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Mansion near Almelo, The Netherlands1 Introduction
A mansion is a large and stately dwelling house. The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansus the past participle of manere "to dwell". The English word "manse" originally defined a property large enough for the parish priest to maintain himself, but a mansion is no longer self-sustaining in this way (compare a Roman or medieval villa). 'Manor' comes from the same root— territorial holdings granted to a lord who would remain there— hence it is easy to see how the word 'Mansion' came to have its meaning.
The very first 'mansions', as we understand the term, were probably the villas built for the ruling class of the Roman Empire. Within a Roman city, patrician dwellings might be very extensive, but they rarely identified their grandeur to the street, beyond the public amenity of a sheltered portico. Nero's Domus Aurea on the Palatine Hill, Rome was organized as a series of glittering pavilions in gardens rather than a mansion.
Following the fall of Rome the practice of building unfortified villas ceased. Today, the oldest inhabited mansions around the world usually began their existence as fortified castles in the middle ages. As social conditions slowly changed and stabilised fortifications were able to be reduced, and over the centuries gave way to comfort. It became fashionable for one's castle to be beautiful rather than grim and forbidding. Hence the modern mansion began to evolve.
A model of the modern Hatfield HouseHatfield House stands to the east of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, was built in 1611 and is the family seat of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury. The Royal Palace of Hatfield that was the childhood home and favorite palace of Queen Elizabeth I n, completed in 1611
It was not to be until the 16th century15th century 16th century 17th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. Events Beginning of the " Little Ice Age" a cooling period that resulted in lower crop yi that mansions really began to be often built in a completely new style. This was the era of Renaissance architectureRenaissance Architecture The cultural movement called the Renaissance (which literally means re-birth) was just that in architecture, a rebirth of the Roman traditions of design. It was expressed in a new emphasis on rational clarity and regularity of par, when large houses began to be erected without even a hint of fortification. Hatfield HouseHatfield House stands to the east of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, was built in 1611 and is the family seat of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury. The Royal Palace of Hatfield that was the childhood home and favorite palace of Queen Elizabeth I n is a superb example of a house built during the transition period in England. In ItalyThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer classic villas such as Villa FarneseThe Villa Farnese at Caprarola is sometimes incorrectly known as the Villa Caprarola . It should not be confused with the Palazzo Farnese, Rome First Impression The Villa Farnese at Caprarola is massive. That phrase is probably one of the most accurate de and Villa GiuliaThe Villa Giulia stands in an area of Rome known as the 'Vigna Vechia' (which was once against the city walls) lying on the slopes where 'Monte Parioli' descends to the Tiber. The current villa is only a small part of a former property, comprising three v were typical, but individually diverse forms, of the new style of mansion.
The reason for building and owning these often vast edifices, long after their original fortified use was negated, was often to provide the owner with an obvious status symbol. Until World War II it was not unusual for a moderately sized mansion in England such as Cliveden to have an indoor staff of 20 and an outside staff of the same size, while, in a ducal mansion such as Chatsworth House the numbers were far higher. In the great houses of Italy, the number of retainers employed to staff them was often even greater than in England, whole families plus extended relations would often inhabit warrens of rooms in basements and attics. It is doubtful that a 19th century Marchesa would even know the exact numbers who served her.
Most European mansions also were the hub of vast estates. A true estate always contains at least one complete village and its church. Large estates such as that of Woburn Abbey have several villages attached.
