THE HISTORY OF THE VILLA

The first villas emerged towards the end of the Roman Republic. At first they were simply Roman country homes. There were too types. The villa rustica was actually a general term for a farm house that was typically occupied by servants who were left in charge of the estate The owners of the villa—generally the very wealthy or those from prominent families—stayed in the villa urbana or the home proper. Historians believe Pliny the Younger had four, one them being the one near Laurentium which he described often. Cicero had as many as seven villas, the oldest (which he inherited) located at Arpinum.

Villas were usually located conveniently near the city to allow owners to visit it as frequently as they wanted. Thus most villas were easily be reached from the capital. The journey would only take about a day. There were a lot of of Imperial villas near the Bay of Naples, particularly near the Isle of Capri, at Monte Circeo on the coast and at Antium (Anzio).

Since then the nature of a villa has changed. Almost anyone can rent or buy a villa, you don’t have to be wealthy, powerful or famous. The architecture has also evolved to accommodate different styles of the countries they are located in. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the villa’s popularity and image as the perfect weekend home.

THE APPEAL OF VILLAS

Since time immemorial the villa symbolized a retreat or a sanctuary. For example it was a place people could go to at the peak of summer when the heat was unbearable. Roman writers loved to boast about the self-sufficiency of their villas, where they made their wine and olive oil, a sign of the tRoman empire’s increasing economic fragmentation. When these independent villas were given to the Christian church, they evolved into the monasteries, such as the Monte Cassino.

THE STRUCTURE OF A VILLA

The villa’s independent buildings were often connected by their enclosed courtyards. You would often see “wings” which were connected to a portico, constructed in such a way that it would surround a courtyard. Others had a a main hall like a basilica, suggesting the villa owner’s magisterial role. These often had a central aisle. The important ceremonial rooms often had stone materials and were decorated with window glass and ironwork window grilles. It was common to see timbered structures with mortices and tenons and dowelled together.

TODAY’S VILLAS

At the start of the twentieth century, the term ’semi-detached villas’ had evolved. When you think of villas today, even Villas in France, they don’t have to be a ‘terrace’ of joined houses. Instead villas are a general term for a suburban house. It often just has one storey, what is called the bungalow, especially those made after World War I in post-colonial Britain, and by extension the term is used for suburban bungalows in both Australia and New Zealand. The villa concept has also become associated with statements about social position and lifestyle and lives on in Southern Europe including France.