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 parc, 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 but are still big.
Prices for villas in Cote d’Azur vary a lot depending on the area, the view, the land size, the number of bedrooms. That is why you will find villas from € 250,000 up to € 1,500,000. But €370,000 will buy you a 2-bedroom villa in Cote d’Azur, with swimming pool. Sextant Properties has a lot of villas like this one; see for example the reference no. 12218.
As for luxurious villas, their price reach €4,800,000 on Sextant website, but they can be more! Such properties are sea-facing villas, set in calm and green areas with dreaming overflow swimming pool. Less expensive villas, but still luxurious can be found under the reference no. 12928 and 9251.
What does villa in Cote d'Azur 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.