We were due to get the plane to Hawaii on Thursday afternoon. Rather than hang around the hotel we had booked tickets to go and see the Getty Villa. As the name suggests it is a reconstruction of a Roman villa and houses the Getty of Greek and Roman art. We had been wanting to see it for a number of years and so we were hoping that we wouldn’t be disappointed. Glad to report that the villa, the gardens and the art were fantastic. We were also blessed by the weather as after the rain of the day before everything was looking pristine and the skies were blue.
Among the exhibits we were able to see the “Fano Athlete”. This bronze statue was found of the Adriatic coast, near Fano, in the early 1960s. Fano has been campaigning to have the statue returned to Fano claiming that the Getty Museum had illegally obtained the statue. The campaign continues.
(We went on a garden tour and the guide told us that the water in the main pool was 17.5 inches deep. Roman ponds were deeper but in California if a pool is over 18 inches deep then a permanent lifeguard must be provided).
I think the old criminal (I mean normal eyetie politician) Prime Minister Craxi (sp) used his feet as ashtrays.