Tag:building=villa
 building = villa
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Unclear value, please avoid using it 
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| Rendering in OSM Carto |
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| Group: buildings |
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| Status: in use |
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The term villa originates from Latin and is nowadays in some west European countries predominantly associated with prestigious residential buildings where architectural design takes precedence over pure utility value. There is no clear and unambiguous definition, and the distinction from high-end residential buildings is fluid; whether a building is to be regarded as a large family house or as a villa is at the discretion of the observer.
One major issue with the term villa is that it has no specific meaning in British English - it is more or less just another word for house. The same applies for many other languages where villa can be used for various kinds of residential buildings. So even if in your country building=villa may add a specific information to a house, in most other countries it does not - and if it does, the meaning can be completely different.
The use of the tag building=villa is therefore discouraged. Please consider using building=house, building=detached or other building tags instead.
Present use of building=villa
As of February 2025, most building=villa are mapped in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Germany. Some characteristics often assigned to a villa:
- It is a detached residential building.
- It is significantly larger than an average family home.
- It has an individual/distinctive architectural design.
- It is usually located outside the densely built up city areas.
- It is often surrounded by a large and custom-designed garden.
In several countries, villas are often located in particularly spacious suburban areas, known as “villa districts”. However, there are also urban villas with relatively small plots. These often have elaborately designed impressive façades but rather inconspicuous rear sides that are not visible from the street.
Photos
Villa in Rapallo/Italy
Villa in Slubow/Poland
Villa in Dakoro/Niger
Villa in Wichtrach/Switzerland
Villa in Dresden/Germany
Villa in Norrviken/Sweden
Villa in City of Westminster/UK
Modern Villa Design
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