Le villae rusticae romane e la loro dimensione economica : uno sguardo alla penisola italiana

Marzano, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6485-9143 (2013) Le villae rusticae romane e la loro dimensione economica : uno sguardo alla penisola italiana. In: Rizakis, A.D. and Touratsoglou, I.P. (eds.) Villae rusticae : family and market-oriented farms in Greece under Roman rule : Proceedings of an international congress held at Patrai, 23-24 April 2010. Meletemata (68). De Boccard ; National Hellenic Research Foundation, Paris ; Athens, pp. 6-20. ISBN 9789609538190

Abstract/Summary

What a villa was is a question that engaged the Latin authors themselves, for the term is used with a certain flexibility throughout Roman history: rustic farm, luxurious mansion provided with agricultural production quarters, ultimately village in Late Antiquity. The common denominators, however, were the location outside the urban boundaries and the embedded idea of productivity. Also modern scholars have used the term villa to refer to different things depending on the geographic area under investigation. In this paper I focus on Italian villae rusticae, offering a survey of their economic dimension and attested production activities. Through a series of case studies, some specific examples of attested productions in rural villas, in addition to common agricultural activities are discussed, such as textile and lime production. The key concept to remember is that depending on location and available natural resources, an array of productions was possible, either to achieve self-sufficiency or for exchange on the market.