See Italy's Amazing Roman Villas by Louis Coriazio
There's a good chance you've heard the term "Roman villa" before but you might not know just what kind of building it refers to. Originally villas were built during the Roman republic & Empire for upper class members of society.
Pliny the Elder identified two kinds of villas ones in the country that could be easily reached from a major city & those further out. These were permanently occupied by servants & only visited by the family given their distance from major urban centers.
There were a lot of villas built during the late Republic filled with lavish artwork like mosaics & frescoes. During the Empire period this rich building method continued but there were other kinds of villas too including suburban & farm villas.
By the fourth century CE the term "villa" had come to mean any agricultural holding as well as the earlier forms. Villa was used to describe the olive grove at Gethsemane in the Gospel of Mark & did not imply that there were any buildings there.
There were a number of different architectural styles available but most villas had an atrium peristyle or other enclosed space open to light & air. These structures ranged form rural to the palatial & many were self supporting. It was a point of pride to drink wine & eat oil from one's own estate.
Villas close to Rome were often built to offer an escape during summer's heat. These were usually built near the sea or on a hill where temperatures were cooler the first vacation homes.
Later period Roman villas were often equipped with a number of luxuries some of which are still hard to find today. For instance hypocausts provided radiant heating under mosaic floors. Running water was often available in villas as well.
Villas weren't just built in Rome either. You can see the remains of buildings built by Romans in France England Luxembourg & other parts of Italy. Many of them later became monasteries & abbeys.
The average villa complex had three parts. There was the villa urbana where the owner & family lived which was close to the city.
The villa rustica was located much further out in rural areas & was populated by workers servants & slaves who farmed & kept up the area for the owner of the villa. Storage was included in farm type villas for agricultural products like olives.
If you visit one of the still existing ancient Roman villas today you'll see the many different rooms & its unique architecture & art. Restored villas are truly amazing to look at.
There are also villas from later periods built to mimic ancient ones but they come in all kinds of different architectural styles. Just remember that classical Roman ones came first.
Today visitors to Rome can look at villas from all time periods & some have even become public parks. Anyone with an interest in architecture or history should take the time to check them out.
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