The Roman Villas and their importance in the Roman period

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Importance of Roman villas
Roman villas were elite residencies which combined residential areas and productive units. They belonged to the upper class in the society and they were typically built in the countryside where land was cheaper and far from urban life. The location of the villas was in such a way that the owners could travel to town and run their errands while staying in their posh homes. A typical villa was large enough to accommodate the owner's business, library, kitchen, pool, and garden. The villas were meticulously decorated. The decorations were very expensive as they involved hiring a master craftsman who designed and created beautiful art around the villas. Most villas had atriums which were mainly to allow light to circulate in the houses. These houses also had a rainwater collection system which allowed the owner to plumb them tor utility later. Some other villas had hypocaust. The hypocaust was a house warming system which was built beneath the floor and it circulated heath throughout the houses up to the upper floor. The productive area housed the slaves, chefs and household animals especially donkeys. These were not posh but productive areas which had were specifically designed to house the workers. Depending on the economic activity the owner was majorly involved in, the productive area also featured other units such as wineries, storage cellars and grain stores.
One of the key importance of the villas was to enable the rich owner to live a comfortable life. The cities were smoky, noisy and largely uncomfortable for the rich. They also lacked elaborate and properly functional sewer system which made them smelly. Some of the villas had elaborate plumbing and sewer systems throughout the complex. These served the rich owners and were specifically designed to the liking of the owner. The streets were also sooty and crowded making the quality of life in the city environment unfavourable even when they could afford whatever they wanted in the city. The rich preferred to live in areas where there was fresh air, they had room to house whatever made them comfortable and have beautiful views of either the city, the landscape or the sea. The rich who owned villas wanted to live a life different and more comfortable than that of an average city dweller who had to live in single houses in badly constructed apartments in the city. Even when the rich people could afford the land in the cities on which they could construct their expansive villas, there were some other factors of the city which they could not control. They could not offer the same views of the landscape or city and importantly they could not avoid the commotion and poor environmental quality of the city. Thus, the rich opted to have their villas a little further from the cities where they could live comfortably.
Roman villas were also used for production. Most of the rich families that were privileged enough to own a villa had a core business which was their main economic activity. The three main distinctive divisions of a typical villa reflect the use of the villa as a production facility. The Pars Urbana housed the residential area for the owner and his/her guests. The Pars Rustica was where the processing of agricultural surplus or mini factory of the main economic activity of the family was housed. The Pars Fructuria was the storage area. The villas reflected their economic activity in their functional design. For example, if the family/owner run a winery, the villa would have a wine cellar area as the Pars Fructuria and a winery itself in the Pars Rustica area. Others had areas dedicated to textile and fish processing and their designs of Pars Rustica and Pars Fructuria reflected the economic activity. Additionally, the owners dedicated some units to serve as library or study areas and possible administrative rooms for their businesses. These were mainly housed in the Pars Urbana. The owner could keep records in this area and manage his/her business from the comfort of their houses. Villas also housed slaves. Slaves were ‘units of production’ and the owner used their villas to house and manage his workforce efficiently since he could do better management of the human resource while living with them closely than when living far away. Thus, the villa was instrumental in helping the owner-run his/her business conveniently.
Roman villas were symbols of wealth. A villa was one of the assets the rich showcased their wealth. They were designed and built to ooze luxury, wealth and nobility. The main rooms and the atrium were decorated with plaster and mosaics. Neither of these things came easy as they ...