Jean Paul Getty, the founder of the Getty Oil Company and once the world’s richest man, was an avid collector of Roman and Greek antiquities. To exhibit his collection, which now consists of over 44,000 artifacts, he built a Roman country house similar to one that was destroyed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The spectacular result is the Getty Villa museum which is seen in the background. In the foreground are a formal garden, reflection pool and bronze statues.
