From the original humble country dwelling to the sprawling imperial splendour of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, to the ideal perfection of the Villa Rotonda and the austere simplicity of the Villa Savoye, the constant defining feature of this building type is the opportunity it provides of retreat from everyday concerns. The villa offers a balm for the soul, a soothing escape from the routine business of politics and commerce. In this series Dr Anne Galastro explores villas large and small, their architects and their patrons, from ancient Roman examples through the revival of the form in the Renaissance and its adaptions outside Italy, right up to the twentieth-century modernists.

• Thursday 16 February: The Classical villa, and its Renaissance revival
• Thursday 23 February: Palladio and his villas in the Veneto
• Thursday 2 March: Palladian villas transplanted to Britain
• Thursday 9 March: The villa in the 20th century