"A villa is a building in the country designed for it's owner's enjoyment and relaxation. Though it may also be the centre of an agricultural enterprise, the pleasure factor is what essentially distinguishes the villa residence from the farmhouse and the villa estate from the farm. The farmhouse tends to be simple in structure and to conserve ancient forms that do not require the intervention of a designer. The villa is typically the product of an architect's imagination and asserts its modernity."

James S. Ackerman, The Villa, Form and Ideology of Country Houses, Washington, 1985, p.9