Countryside farmhouse or villa during the Roman era
Scale model of a Roman villa rustica. Remains of villas of this type have been found in the vicinity ofValjevo, Serbia.
Villa rustica (transl.farmhouse orcountryside villa) was the term used by the ancient Romans[1][2] to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority ofRoman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large agricultural estate, sometimes called alatifundium. The adjectiverustica was used only to distinguish it from a much rarer sub-urban resortvilla, orotium villa built for purely leisure and luxury, and typically located in theBay of Naples. Thevilla 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.[3][4][5][6][7]
The villa rustica's design differed, but usually it consisted of two parts; thepars urbana (main house),[8] and thepars rustica (farm area).
^Die Römer am Wolfartsberg. (Heimatblätter des Heimat- und Kulturvereines Haueneberstein e.V., Nr. 3).haueneberstein.deArchived February 11, 2015, at theWayback Machine
^Gerhard Hoffmann:Spuren früher Zeiten – Funde und Fundstätten im Landkreis Rastatt. Eine Materialkunde zur Vor und Frühgeschichte. Bestandsaufnahme und Dokumentation. (Sonderveröffentlichungen des Kreisarchivs Rastatt, Band 5). Verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher u. a. 2007,ISBN978-3-89735-495-1.(Abstract)Archived March 18, 2015, at theWayback Machine
^Horisberger, Beat; Hedinger, Bettina; Hoek, Florian; Büsser, Roger (2007).Römisches Landleben im Zürcher Oberland - Die Römer in Wetzikon (in German). Frauenfeld, Stuttgart, Wien: Verlag Huber.ISBN978-3-7193-1441-5.
