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") is a very extensive parcel of privately owned land. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, ...

''. 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. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

, or ''

otium ''Otium'', a Latin abstract term, has a variety of meanings, including leisure time in which a person can enjoy eating, playing, relaxing, contemplation and academic endeavors. It sometimes, but not always, relates to a time in a person's ret ...

villa'' built for purely leisure and luxury, and typically located in the Bay of Naples. 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 Altheim is a town in western Austria. It is situated within the District of Braunau am Inn in the traditional region of Innviertel in the state of Upper Austria. It lies on the small river known as the Mühlheimer Ache, a tributary of the Rive ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Mogorjelo Mogorjelo ( sr-cyrl, Могорјело) is a Roman ''villa rustica'' which date back to the early 4th century AD. It is situated on a hill between the rivers Trebižat and Neretva, 5 km south of Čapljina, alongside the road to Gabela in Bosnia ...

Bulgaria

Villa Armira Villa Armira ( bg, Вила “Армира”) is a 1st-century suburban Roman villa in southeastern Bulgaria, located in the proximity of Ivaylovgrad, Haskovo Province. Discovered in 1964 during reservoir construction, it is a primary historica ...

Ivaylovgrad Ivaylovgrad ( bg, Ивайловград, "city of Ivaylo") is a town in Haskovo Province in the south of Bulgaria set near the river Arda in the easternmost part of the Rhodope Mountains, and is the administrative centre of the homonymous Ivayl ...

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 v ...

Villa dei Volusii The ancient Roman Villa dei Volusii or Villa dei Volusii-Saturnini is an archaeological site located in the municipality of Fiano Romano, next to the ancient Roman town and sanctuary of Lucus Feroniae, along the route of ancient Via Tiberina. ...

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

Portugal

* * Castelo da Lousa * * Roman Villa of Rabaçal *

Roman ruins of Quinta da Abicada Abicada (Villa Romana de Abicada or Estação romana da Quinta da Abicada) is the name of Roman ruins in Mexilhoeira Grande, to the north of the civil parish of Alvor, municipality of Portimão, in Algarve region, Portugal. In Roman times it ...

Centum Cellas Centum Cellas, also referred to as ''Centum Cellæ, Centum Celli'', or ''Centum Cœli'' (and in pt, Centocelas), is a Roman villa rustica that dates back to the 1st century AD, located in the Mount of Santo Antão in Belmonte, Castelo Branco D ...

* 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 * Üçayaklı ruins

United Kingdom

* Bignor Roman Villa * Borough Hill Roman villa *

Brading Roman Villa Brading Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa which has been excavated and put on public display in Brading on the Isle of Wight. Discovery and excavation In 1879, a farmer called Mr Munns struck a buried mosaic floor while making holes on h ...

Chedworth Roman Villa Chedworth Roman Villa is located near Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England and is a scheduled monument. It is one of the largest and most elaborate Roman villas so far discovered in Britain and one with the latest occupation beyond the Roman per ...

Crofton Roman Villa Crofton Roman Villa in Crofton, Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley, is a Roman villa which was inhabited between approximately 140 and 400 AD. It was the centre of a farming estate of about , with farm buildings nearby, surrounded by f ...

Fishbourne Roman Palace Fishbourne Roman Palace (or Fishbourne Villa) is located in the village of Fishbourne, Chichester in West Sussex. The palace is the largest Roman residence north of the Alps. and has an unusually early date of 75 CE, around thirty years af ...

* Gadebridge Park Roman Villa *

Littlecote Roman Villa Littlecote Roman Villa is an extensive and exceptional Roman villa, with associated religious complex, at Littlecote Park in Ramsbury, Wiltshire. It has been excavated and is on display to the public in the grounds of the estate. It was ...

Llantwit Major Roman Villa The Llantwit Major Roman Villa was a Roman L-shaped courtyard villa located at what is now Caermead, immediately north of the town of Llantwit Major in the Welsh county of South Glamorgan. The villa was first discovered in 1887 and was fully exc ...

Low Ham Roman Villa The Low Ham Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa located near Low Ham in the civil parish of High Ham in the English county of Somerset. It is best known for the extraordinary figured mosaic depicting the story of Aeneas and Dido. The site ...

Lullingstone Roman Villa Lullingstone Roman Villa is a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain, situated in Lullingstone near the village of Eynsford in Kent, south-eastern England. The villa is located in the Darent Valley, along with six others, including ...

* Newport Roman Villa *

North Leigh Roman Villa North Leigh Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa in the Evenlode Valley about north of the hamlet of East End in North Leigh civil parish in Oxfordshire. It is a scheduled monument in the care of English Heritage and is open to the public. ...

Piddington Roman Villa Piddington Roman Villa is the remains of a large Roman villa at Piddington, Northamptonshire, about south-east of Northampton, a county in the East Midlands of England. Location The villa is on the site of an earlier late Iron Age settlement ...

Woodchester Roman Villa Woodchester Roman Villa was situated at Woodchester near Stroud in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is one of many Roman villas discovered in Gloucestershire and was occupied between the early 2nd and late 4th centuries AD. There is now ...

France

* Villa Rustica, Coustaty * * *

Montmaurin Montmaurin () is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department of southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territori ...

* *

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 Bondorf is a municipality in the district of Böblingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

, Böblingen * , Konstanz * , Lörrach * Villa Rustica at Eigeltingen * Villa Rustica at

Gaggenau Gaggenau is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located some 8 km northeast of Baden-Baden. History Gaggenau was first mentioned in local records in 1243 under the name "Gaggenaw". The present distric ...

-Bad Rotenfels / Oberweier * Villa urbana at

Grenzach-Wyhlen Grenzach-Wyhlen is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, 7 km east of Basel, and 8 km south of Lörrach. It has borders to Inzlingen and Rheinfelden ...

( Museum Römervilla) * , Zollernalbkreis * Villa urbana at

Heitersheim Heitersheim is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The name of the school located in Heitersheim is Johanniterschule. It was the seat of the Grand Prior of Germany of the Knights Hospitaller ...

* , 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 known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viad ...

* * Villa Rustica at Oberndorf-Bochingen * , Rems-Murr-Kreis * , Heilbronn * , Rhein-Neckar-Kreis * , Tuttlingen * , Heilbronn * Villa Rustica

Bietigheim Bietigheim is a village in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Southwestern Germany. It is located east of the Rhine river and thus the border to France, west of the Black Forest (more precisely the Northern Black Forest), south of ...

- Weilerlen at

Bietigheim-Bissingen Bietigheim-Bissingen (locally: ''Biedge-Bissenge'') is the second-largest town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with 42,515 inhabitants in 2007. It is situated on the river Enz and the river Metter, close to its conflu ...

, 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: ) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Belgian-Dutch border, and about east of Aachen and west of Cologne. History * Celts (fi ...

, Aachen * , Eschweiler, Aachen * Villae Rusticae near

Hambach surface mine The Tagebau Hambach is a large open-pit coal mine (german: Tagebau) in Niederzier and Elsdorf, North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany. It is operated by RWE and used for mining lignite. The mine is on the site of the ancient Hambach Forest, w ...

, Düren * at Sollig, Nettersheim-Roderath, Euskirchen Rheinland-Palatine Villa Rustica Ahrweiler Kleiner Raum östlich des Korridors

* , Bad Dürkheim-Ungstein * ,

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...

* * , 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 The Roman Villa Borg is a reconstructed Roman ''villa rustica'' located near the villages of Borg and Oberleuken in the municipality of Perl in Saarland, Germany. Discovered at the end of the 19th century, the site was excavated in the late 1980s ...

Reinheim Reinheim is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated southeast of Darmstadt. International relations Twin towns - Sister cities Reinheim is twinned with: * Licata, Italy (since 29.6.2001) * Cestas, France ...

* Roman villa at

Nennig Nennig is a village in the Saarland, Germany, part of the municipality of Perl. It is situated on the river Moselle, opposite Remich, Luxembourg. Overview Nennig is known for a Roman villa containing well-preserved mosaics that were excavated in ...

Serbia

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

Switzerland

Aargau * * * * Basel-Landschaft * * Genf * Jura * Solothurn * * Waadt * Zürich * Irgenhausen Castrum (built on the remains of a former villa rustica) * Villa in

Wetzikon Wetzikon is a small town in the Zurich Highlands (Zürcher Oberland) area of Switzerland, in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich. Geography The municipality Wetzikon has an area of . Of this area, 42.4% is used for agricultural pu ...

- 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 t ...

(Germany) {{Authority control Architectural history