Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large agricultural estate, sometimes called a ''

latifundium A ''latifundium'' (Latin: ''latus'', "spacious", and ''fundus'', "farm", "estate") was originally the term used by ancient Romans for great landed estates specialising in agriculture destined for sale: grain, olive oil, or wine. They were charac ...

''. The adjective ''rustica'' was used only to distinguish it from a much rarer sub-urban resort

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

, or ''

otium is a Latin abstract term which has a variety of meanings, including leisure time for "self-realization activities" such as eating, playing, relaxing, contemplation, and Academy, academic endeavors. It sometimes relates to a time in a person's ...

villa'' built for purely leisure and luxury, and typically located in the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

. The ''villa rustica'' would thus serve both as a residence of the landowner and his family (and servants) and also as a farm management centre. It would often comprise separate buildings to accommodate farm labourers and sheds and barns for animals and crops. The villa rustica's design differed, but usually it consisted of two parts; the ''pars urbana'' (main house), and the ''pars rustica'' (farm area).

List of villae rusticae

Austria

* , Altheim, Austria

Bosnia-Herzegovina

* Mogorjelo

Bulgaria

* Villa Armira, Ivaylovgrad

Italy

Villa Boscoreale Villa Boscoreale is a name given to any of several Roman villas discovered in the district of Boscoreale, Italy. They were all buried and preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, along with Pompeii and Herculaneum. The only one vi ...

* Villa dei Volusii,

Fiano Romano Fiano Romano is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy, approximately north of the city. Fiano Romano borders the following municipalities: Capena, Civitella San Paolo, Montelibretti, Montopoli di Sabina, Na ...

Portugal

* * Castelo da Lousa * *

Roman Villa of Rabaçal Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter ...

* Roman ruins of Quinta da Abicada * Centum Cellas * Villa of Torre de Palma * Villa of Cerro da Vila * Roman ruins of Pisões * Roman ruins of São Cucufate * Roman Ruins of Milreu (Estoi) * Roman Villa of Sendim

Turkey

Gökkale Gökkale is an ancient villa rustica in Silifke district of Mersin Province, Turkey Geography Gökkale is situated to the northwest of the İmamlı, Silifke, İmamlı village. Imamlı can be reached via a 15 km (9.3 mi) road from Atakent wh ...

Üçayaklı ruins The Üçayaklı ruins are a Byzantine-era archaeological site in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Üçayaklı ruins are on the plateau at the south of Toros Mountains with an altitude of between two Turkmen villages named Küstülü an ...

United Kingdom

Bignor Roman Villa Bignor Roman Villa is a large Roman villa, Roman courtyard villa which has been excavated and put on public display on the Bignor estate in the England, English county of West Sussex. It is well known for its high quality mosaic floors, which ...

Borough Hill Roman villa Borough Hill Roman villa is located on the north tip of Borough Hill, a prominent hill near the town of Daventry in Northamptonshire.Ordnance Survey Explorer Map, Rugby & Daventry, 222, The villa’s remains lie within the ramparts of an Iron A ...

* Brading Roman Villa * Chedworth Roman Villa * Crofton Roman Villa *

Fishbourne Roman Palace Fishbourne Roman Palace or Fishbourne Villa is in the village of Fishbourne, West Sussex, Fishbourne, near Chichester in West Sussex. The palace is the largest known Roman residence north of the Alps, and has an unusually early date of 75 A ...

* Gadebridge Park Roman Villa * Littlecote Roman Villa * Llantwit Major Roman Villa * Low Ham Roman Villa *

Lullingstone Roman Villa Lullingstone Roman Villa is a Roman villa, villa built during the Roman Britain, Roman occupation of Britain, situated in Lullingstone near the village of Eynsford in Kent, south-eastern England. The villa is located in the River Darent, Darent ...

* Newport Roman Villa * North Leigh Roman Villa * Piddington Roman Villa * Woodchester Roman Villa Montmaurin-01

France

* Villa Rustica, Coustaty * * * Montmaurin * *

Germany

Baden-Württemberg * Villa Rustica,

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

-Haueneberstein, Roman settlement at Wohlfahrtsberg * Villa Rustica at Bondorf, Böblingen * , Konstanz * , Lörrach * Villa Rustica at Eigeltingen * Villa Rustica at Gaggenau-Bad Rotenfels / Oberweier * Villa urbana at Grenzach-Wyhlen ( Museum Römervilla) * , Zollernalbkreis * Villa urbana at Heitersheim * , Sigmaringen * Villa Rustica at Hirschberg * , Sigmaringen * Villa Rustica at Karlsruhe-Durlach * Villa Rustica at Langenau * , Sigmaringen * , Heilbronn * Villa Rustica at Mühlacker * Villa Rustica at

Nagold Nagold () is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the '' Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is recorded for the first time in a historical document dating back to ...

* * Villa Rustica at Oberndorf-Bochingen * , Rems-Murr-Kreis * , Heilbronn * , Rhein-Neckar-Kreis * , Tuttlingen * , Heilbronn * Villa Rustica Bietigheim- Weilerlen at Bietigheim-Bissingen, Ludwigsburg Bavaria * * , Stadt München * * Villa Rustica at Großberghofen, Dachau * , Donau-Ries * Villa Rustica at Hüssingen * Villa Rustica Kohlhunden, Ostallgäu * , Stadt Starnberg * ( Naturpark Altmühltal) * Villa Rustica (Nassenfels), Eichstätt * , Freising * * , Ingolstadt * Villa Rustica (Peiting), Weilheim-Schongau * * , Oberallgäu Hesse * Groß-Umstadt-Heubach, * , Odenwald * Rodau, Zwingenberg, "Kleine Weide" Northrhine-Westphalia * * Villae Rusticae at

Eschweiler Eschweiler (, Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ) is a municipality in the district of Aachen (district), Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Dutch-Belgian border, and about east of Aachen and w ...

, Aachen * , Eschweiler, Aachen * Villae Rusticae near Hambach surface mine, Düren * at Sollig, Nettersheim-Roderath, Euskirchen Rheinland-Palatine * , Bad Dürkheim-Ungstein * ,

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach), Alte Nahebrücke, ...

* * , Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm * , Fließem, Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm * Villa Rustica at Sarresdorf (Gerolstein) *, Mainz-Bingen * Villa Rustica at Herschweiler-Pettersheim, Kusel * * * (Mosel), Trier-Saarburg * * , Mainz-Bingen * , Trier-Saarburg Saarland * Roman Villa Borg * Reinheim * Roman villa at Nennig

Serbia

* Village Gornja Bukovica.Valjevo, villa rustica IV century A.D.

Switzerland

Aargau * * * * Basel-Landschaft * * Genf * Jura * Solothurn * * Waadt * Zürich *

Irgenhausen Castrum Irgenhausen Castrum is a Switzerland in the Roman era, Roman Castra, fort at Irgenhausen, situated on Pfäffikersee lake shore in Switzerland. It was a square fort, measuring in square, with four corner towers and three additional towers. The r ...

(built on the remains of a former villa rustica) * Villa in Wetzikon - Kempten * * * *

References

External links

Villa Rustica
- open-air museum at

Hechingen Hechingen (; Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border. Geography The town lies at the foot of th ...

(Germany) {{Authority control Architectural history