As the Getty Villa in Malibu displays original artefacts from the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum for the first time, Geraldine Fabrikant explains how the ancient villa was built for a rich Roman in the 1st century BC, buried in AD 79 by the Vesuvian eruption, rediscovered in 1750 and recreated by J Paul Getty during the 1970s
If anyone thinks that the grand homes owned by the rich on the French Riviera, the Greek Islands or in Easthampton, USA, are a new phenomenon, they should think again and recall the sprawling luxury Villa Dei Papiri in Herculaneum (3) on the Bay of Naples. This villa was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, rediscovered in 1750, excavated during the 18th century, then lay untouched until the 20th century.
The Villa Dei Papiri is believed to have belonged to a member of the powerful Piso family, probably Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (circa 100–43 BC), a senator and a prominent figure in the late Republic. The family was sufficiently important that when his daughter Calpurnia married Julius Caesar it was seen as a valuable alliance for Caesar. It was recreated as a museum by J Paul Getty in Malibu (1 and 2) during the 1970s.
Commanding truly breathtaking views over the Bay of Naples, the original villa was filled with bronze and marble statues and herms, paved with glorious mosaic floors and had walls decorated with colorful frescoes. While its famous library signals that learning and study were prized by the Romans, the subjects of the wall-paintings underscore their passion for the life of luxury and their enduring fascination with Greek style.
It is a reminder that the rich and powerful always have been and always will be ‘different from you and me’, as F Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) put it.
One of many people infatuated by the Villa dei Papiri was Jean Paul Getty (1892–1976), who visited the site many times in the early 20th century, and went on to publish a short story about it called A Journey from Corinth. It was one of three pieces by Getty in a book entitled Collector’s Choice (published by W H Allen in 1955).
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