Getty Villa

The Getty Villa is a meticulous recreation of the Villa dei Papiri, a luxurious Roman residence buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Rediscovered in 1750 by well diggers who stumbled upon its remains, the ancient villa contained over 1,800 papyrus scrolls, the only complete library from antiquity still in existence. Convicts and conscripts tunneled through volcanic rock to extract many treasures, mapping the villa’s layout as they went. Karl Weber’s eighteenth-century architectural drawings became the blueprint for the Getty Villa two centuries later. The floor plan mirrors the original, complete with peristyle gardens, reflecting pools, and colorful stone pavements. Opened to the public in January 1974, the museum offers visitors a chance to walk through a faithful reconstruction of first-century Roman luxury.