The evolution of the villa

A six-bedroom villa in Cap d’Antibes (capdantibes@savills.com). Main image, villa party in Marbella, shot by the American photographer Slim Aarons (Getty)

Pliny the Younger, a famous Roman man of letters, was also a serial purchaser of villas. His collection included a coastal home, a property in the Tuscan hills and two villas on Lake Como – one high above the water, named Tragedy, and the other on the lakeside, called Comedy. Villas for Pliny represented otium, a Latin term meaning purposeful and peaceful leisure, a calm rural respite from the often brutal business and political life of Rome circa AD100.

In books, films and glossy television series, villas often enjoy a pivotal role: summertime oases where friends gather, relationships are made, people grow up and perhaps fall in love. Think of the French Riviera villa that is home to the wealthy, creative characters in F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1934 novel Tender Is the Night – based on the real-life Villa America in Cap d’Antibes owned by American art connoisseurs Sara and Gerald Murphy, whose guests included Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Cole Porter. More recently, a gorgeous Italian villa starred alongside Timothée Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name, while a scene-stealing Croatian mountaintop villa featured in the TV adaptation of The Day of the Jackal, with Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch.

A majestic estate near Lake Garda (tvickery@savills.com)

Today, the best villas around the world are just as alluring as those from 2,000 years ago. “A villa in the south of France belongs to no single era or owner – born of Riviera history, crowned by royalty, adored by movie stars and claimed by business titans,” says Alex Balkin, executive director of Savills French Riviera & French Alps. “Its universal appeal continues for a new generation of clients, seamlessly uniting timeless elegance with modern expectations – effortless accessibility, world-class infrastructure, refined leisure and the quiet luxury of a life perfectly connected yet blissfully removed.”

Just as Pliny did, modern buyers see villas as synonymous with leisure, says Jelena Cvjetkovic, director in Savills Global Residential Network. “Relishing the generous space and privacy a villa provides to entertain family and friends might date back to ancient times, but that pleasure never went away,” she explains. “In Italy, over the centuries, villas were adapted to suit the lifestyle of wealthy individuals. Think of the nobility’s hunting lodges in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance villas in Tuscany and the Palladian houses in the Veneto. Many had an important agricultural element, but they were predominantly designed as leisure palaces, entertaining venues that displayed the prestige of their owners.”

Today, the Italian villa offers a versatility few destinations can match, according to Danilo Orlando, head of residential at Savills Italy, from long seasonal retreats to the increasingly sophisticated rental landscape. “Across iconic enclaves such as Lake Comoand Portofino,” he says, “super‐prime estates are among the most coveted backdrops for high‐profile weddings and landmark private events, reinforcing their status as a stable, long‐term store of value for discerning investors. Today Italy’s prime villas have the rare ability to deliver profound emotional resonance and enduring financial strength.”

An exceptional contemporary waterfront villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (capferrat@savills.com)

The architecture of the grandiose Italian villas was replicated elsewhere. The flourishes on the 19th-century Belle Epoque villas in the south of France borrowed heavily from classical design and found favour with wintering British and Russian aristocrats, including Queen Victoria and the Romanovs. These intrepid travellers soon ventured further east along the Mediterranean coast, discovering the beauty of Liguria in northern Italy, where they left their mark on the architecture – in Alassio, for example, British arrivals built handsome villas set in glorious gardens, adding an Anglican church, a tennis club and even an English library, which still operates today.

An influx of post-revolution Russian emigrés, artists and writers added to the fashionable appeal of the south of France in the early 20th century. Even the modernists got in on the villa act: Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici, for example, reinvented the form in sleek lines with the iconic Villa-E-1027, completed in 1929 on the cliffs at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. The villas of this era were notable for their lavish entertaining spaces – grand salons and dining rooms, often separated from more private areas by ornate staircases. The public rooms gave onto wide terraces with sweeping views over often formal gardens, out to the countryside or coastline beyond.

A similar aesthetic prevailed in southern Croatia, where, during the Renaissance, noble Dubrovnik families sought space away from the compact walled city in the summer. These villas, known as ljetnikovci – literally, homes to summer in – were often built on the water’s edge, surrounded by lush walled gardens. In today’s market, along with the smaller so-called Captain’s Houses, these villas have become highly sought-after by a new generation of buyer, as are the grand 19th-century Italianate coastal properties further north in Kvarner Bay.

Four Winds villa has 350ft of prime beach frontage on the west coast of Barbados (odge.davey@savills.com)

As travel became more affordable and leisure time increased, the options for those seeking a holiday house in the sun expanded – and with them the villa ideal. In 1954, BOAC, the forerunner to British Airways, commenced flights from London to Barbados. Oliver Messel, a London stage designer and the uncle of Princess Margaret’s husband, Lord Snowdon, arrived in Barbados in the late 1950s, and for 20 years carved out a new career as architect and interior designer to the international elite, building magnificent coral-stone villas in lush gardens there and on nearby Mustique.

“The impetus behind owning a villa in Barbados largely remains the same today as in Messel’s time – entertaining and relaxing in beautiful natural surroundings with good weather,” says Odge Davey, head of international sales at Savills. “The important issues remain generous entertaining spaces, excellent security and the ability to host guests in a self-contained annexe or wing.”

Traditional coral-stone villas are still coveted – Davey has a fine off-market example on the Sandy Lane Estate, set in five acres of gardens and priced at US$35 million – but they have been joined by a new generation of ultra-sleek contemporary villas. And while the demand for beachfront or sea-view villas remains strong, there’s growing interest in homes on Barbados’s inland private estates, where five-star sporting and leisure facilities such as golf courses, tennis and padel courts, gyms and restaurants are attracting health-conscious owners.

A historic villa in the centre of Dubrovnik (jcvjetkovic@savills.com)

“All beaches in Barbados are public, so for total privacy, homes on the golfing estates of Sandy Lane, Apes Hill or Royal Westmoreland have obvious appeal,” says Davey. “On an island that’s only 21 miles by 14, you’re never far from the water.” The facilities that buyers now demand in their prime villas signal a significant shift in the way these homes are used. Leisure time today is about more than just a cooling dip in a pool, and holidays are increasingly multigenerational affairs. Consequently, the best villas have impressive gyms, games rooms, state-of-the-art home cinemas and extensive gardens, providing activities for toddlers and teens through to octogenarians. With the advent of hybrid working, digital executives expect a high-functioning office with excellent connectivity. In those exquisite Italianate villas on the French Riviera, often the cellars have been turned into gyms, wine storage or media rooms.

“We’re seeing a clear trend of people spending extended periods in their holiday villas, and they expect them to mirror their main home in quality of design and range of facilities,” says Cvjetkovic. “The finest villas today are considered a home from home, not a second home. Their ultimate purpose might still be leisure and entertaining, but the villas themselves have become larger and more sophisticated over time.”

An elevated home with lake, golf and sea views in Quinta do Lago (iain.begg@qp.pt)

Another growing trend is for properties that can accommodate multigenerational families in locations such as Ibiza and Portugal that are attractive to older offspring, functioning as an alternative family hub for the summer months. This is a dynamic seen at Quinta do Lago, the Algarve’s exclusive sports and leisure resort, 15 minutes from Faro airport, and at Sotogrande in southern Spain. The original Mediterranean design of terracotta roof tiles, stucco walls and arched doorways has given way to contemporary villas with top-quality finishes and smart technology. Walls of glass maximise light, rooftop plunge pools lead off principal suites, and outside kitchens and bars encourage socialising. “These changes reflect what people want today: a multigenerational home with space both to entertain and for privacy,” says Iain Begg, sales director for Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo at Savills QP.

Helped by this flight to quality, prime villas in southern Spain and the Algarve benefit from lengthy rental seasons. “The possibility of earning income from short lets is not necessarily the primary driver for those buying these homes, but most like to know that it is an option, even those buying at the top of the market,” says Pablo Balea Vicente, Savills head of residential Barcelona. “Locations with a longer rental season – that includes Tuscany, Provence and prime year-round Alpine resorts – have added appeal. Remember, though, that if rental returns are key to a purchase, it’s essential to understand any local restrictions. In Mallorca, for example, a licence is required to rent most villas. The authorities are not issuing any new licences, and homes with one sell at a premium.”

A newly built villa in Bendinat, Mallorca (maria.santuriocorrales@savills.com)

No international villa tour would be complete without a mention of Palm Beach, the glamour-filled Florida town where photographer Slim Aarons first captured the leisured wealthy at play in the 1950s. His images, which he replicated everywhere from the French Riviera to the Italian Lakes and Antigua, are the quintessence of villa life: a private idyll of stylish, languid living.

The magnificent Palm Beach villas, set in neatly clipped gardens, pay homage to a wide range of global styles – and are now more desirable than ever. Mediterranean Revival homes, a fusion of classical arches and columns with more than a touch of Italian influence, sit alongside Georgian and Palladian architecture, Spanish colonial designs and pastel-perfect Art Deco curves.

“The development of villa design and size is fascinating to note,” concludes Cvjetkovic. “Yet throughout there is a constant – the importance and value placed on making the most of precious leisure time.” Pliny the Younger would no doubt agree.

This story also appears in the new Portfolio magazine. Request your complimentary copy here.