What Does Villa in Cote DAzur Really Mean?
The word « villa » has been designating several different things throughout the ages. Its meaning also changed depending on where the designated thing was set. In Ancient Rome and in Roman Gaulle, a villa was a squire estate, with large fields, farm buildings and sometimes an accommodation. It was for the Romans, the Villa Rustica. Later on, the word “villa” was used to describe a street or an alley, which was lined with detached houses. In Italy, it designated a rich house, with a park, fountains, etc like the Villa Medicis, Villa Borghese and Villa d’Este. Nowadays, a “villa” generally describes a detached house, rich, elegant, with garden, which is often set on the seaside and used for holidays, like the many villas in the Cote d’Azur. It also describes suburban big and rich houses. They were classified as Villa Urbana. In the whole Europe, the word is commonly used to talk about a recent house with garden, very smart and of good size. They generally comprise no more than two floors
