Immersed in Art & Culture .. Getty Villa - East Garden

The intimate East Garden within the grounds of the Getty Villa ...

a walled santuary space where you'll want to linger.

Delightful feverfew .. among the plantings in the East Garden;

 reflecting an array of species known from the ancient Mediterranean,

with sycamore and laurel trees providing shade.

The wall fountain represents a replica of a mosaic and shell fountain from the House of the Large Fountain in Pompeii. In A.D. 79 Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum. Embellishments emerge at every turn. Mosaic work, enlivened by images of birds amid colorful patterning, is likened to wall paintings found inside Roman ruins.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION....

The heads of bronze civets, catlike creatures spout splashing streams of water into a marble basin, in the East Garden's central fountain. Adorning the wall fountain are marble theatrical masks, prevalent elements in Roman art of the first century A.D.

It's easy to get lost in the detailing of the intricate mosaic and shell work.

The source of the water flowing from the wall fountain.

Detail:  Bronze Civets & Marble Basin

Fountains act as engaging focal points within the secluded setting.

 Evergreen strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo) line up along one wall of the garden: the ripening spiny fruit appears like dangling ornaments set off by the glossy foliage. Fragrant clusters of  bell-like flowers appear alongside the fruit, which turns from a bright gold to deep red-orange.

Acanthus leaves are depicted again and again in ancient architectural elements, 

emerging in decorations carved in stone and in wood, in columns and friezes

dating back to Greco-Roman times.

Click on link below for more on the Getty Villa Malibu

Part I - Trompe l'Oeil