Recommended Books for Vacation Villas
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Vacation Villas
Villas
A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper
class. According to Pliny the Elder, there were two kinds of villas, the villa
urbana, which was a country seat that could easily be reached from Rome (or another
city) for a night or two, and the villa rustica, the farm-house estate, permanently
occupied by the servants who had charge generally of the estate, which would center
on the villa itself, perhaps only seasonally occupied. There were a concentration
of Imperial villas near the Bay of Naples, especially on the Isle of Capri, at
Monte Circeo on the coast and at Antium (Anzio). Wealthy Romans escaped the summer
heat in the hills round Rome, especially around Frascati (cf Hadrian's Villa).
Cicero is said to have possessed no fewer than seven villas, the oldest of which
was near Arpinum, which he inherited. Pliny the Younger had three or four, of which
the example near Laurentium is the best known from his descriptions.
Renaissance villas
In 14th and 15th century Italy, a 'villa' once more connoted a country house,
sometimes the family seat of power like Villa Caprarola, more often designed for
seasonal pleasure, usually located within easy distance of a city. The first
examples of Renaissance Villa dates back to the age of Lorenzo de' Medici, and
they are mostly located in the Italian region of Tuscany (the "Medici villas") such
as the Villa di Poggio a Caiano by Giuliano da Sangallo (begun in 1470) or the
Villa Medici in Fiesole (since 1450), probably the first villa created under the
instructions of Leon Battista Alberti, who theorized in his De re aedificatoria
the features of the new idea of villa. From Tuscany the idea of villa was spread
again through Italy and Europe.
Excerpt of "Villa." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
21 Oct 2006, 16:21 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 Oct 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Villa&oldid=82831165
Image from "Image:Villa_Medici_a_Fiesole_1.jpg" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 Oct 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Villa_Medici_a_Fiesole_1.jpg
Vacation
Vacation is a term used in English speaking North America
to describe time away from work or school, a trip abroad, or simply a
pleasure trip away from home. In the rest of the English-speaking world the
word "holiday" is used. In Canada both terms are widely used. In England the
word vacation referred specifically to the long summer break taken by the law
courts (and later universities) - a custom introduced by William the Conqueror
from Normandy where it was intended to facilitate the grape harvest. The French
term is similar to the American English: "Les Vacances". The term derives
from the fact that, in the past, upper-class families would literally move
to a summer home for part of the year, leaving their usual family home vacant.
Most countries around the world have labor laws mandating a certain number
of days of time off per year to be given to a worker. In Canada the legal
minimum is two weeks, while in most of Europe the limit is significantly higher.
Many American companies give only one week, and then frequently only after
completion of a year of employment.
In modern employment practice, vacation days are usually coupled with Sick
leave, official holidays, and sometimes personal days.
Americans and Canadians may also use the word "holiday", especially those of
recent British or European descent. "Annual Leave" is another expression used
in Commonwealth countries
Excerpt from "Vacation." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
24 Oct 2006, 07:26 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 Oct 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vacation&oldid=83380321
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