The decadent Sardinian estate where Silvio Berlusconi hosted the likes of Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair could soon be yours – for a cool £425 million, of course.
The former Italian prime minister, media mogul and notorious womanizer died in June at the age of 86, leaving most of his gigantic fortune to his five children – except for 100 million euros earmarked for his 33-year-old lover, MP Marta Fascina .
Now his children have decided to sell what is arguably his most prized possession, a sprawling estate called Villa Certosa set in a 110-hectare estate on the Costa Smeralda on Sardinia's north-east coast.
Villa Certosa has just about every raunchy accoutrement necessary to satisfy the most demanding superstar, the status-conscious Russian billionaire or even the aspiring James Bond villain in search of an unlikely hideout.
The stunning property overlooking the Mediterranean is equipped with all sorts of luxurious facilities, including five swimming pools, spas, tennis courts and even its own man-made amphitheater.
This made it Berlsuconi's preferred location for hosting some of the world's most powerful and influential figures, including former US President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair – not forgetting his “dear friend”, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Blair and his wife Cherie were welcomed to the Certosa villa with a specially designed £50,000 fireworks show that lit up the night sky with the words “Viva Tony”.
Putin, meanwhile, was a regular at Berlusconi's favorite Sardinian resort, enjoying a series of holidays to the sun-drenched coastal gem from 2003 onwards.
Villa Certosa in Sardinia, Italy is home to this amphitheater complex
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's villa “Villa Certosa”, Porto Rotondo, near Olbia, Sardinia
Villa Certosa has just about every raunchy accoutrement necessary to satisfy the most demanding superstar, the status-conscious Russian billionaire or even the aspiring James Bond villain in search of an unlikely hideout
FILE PHOTO: British Prime Minister Tony Blair (R) and his wife Cherie (center) meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (L) in Porto Cervo on the island of Sardinia in Italy, Monday, August 16, 2004. Tony Blair and his wife were guests of Berlusconi at his Villa Certosa in Sardinia
FILE PHOTO: April 2008 – Italian Prime Minister-designate Silvio Berlusconi (r.) waves to journalists during a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (l.) at Berlusconi's private summer residence “La Certosa”.
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister-designate Silvio Berlusconi (R) drive an electric buggy as they arrive for a joint news conference at Berlusconi's private summer residence “La Certosa” on April 18, 2008
A monument to swagger, the villa amazes every visitor with a mock volcano on the grounds that, at the touch of a button, emits the sound of an eruption and lets artificial lava flow from its cone.
In addition to the five regular swimming pools, Certosa also has an artificial lagoon, a large soccer field, a golf course and a helipad.
It was also the scene of a scandal in 2009, when the tycoon served his final term as Italian leader.
Photos published in Spain – he took legal action to prevent their appearance in Italy – showed not only topless women but also a naked man frolicking by the pool, later identified as former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek.
Berlusconi tried to brush it off with his usual audacity. His guests, he explained, were showering and added: “Do you shower in a jacket and tie?”
For guests for whom discretion was paramount, the villa could be accessed via a secret tunnel carved into a cave, allowing visitors to disembark from their boats out of the gaze of the paparazzi.
The property was coveted by many of the world's richest people, but Berlusconi reportedly rejected every offer, regardless of value.
Italian media reported in 2015 that the Saudi royal family had offered to pay the asking price of 500 million euros – their second unsuccessful attempt to take the villa from Berlusconi.
Now Berlusconi's five children have reportedly decided to sell most of their father's properties, including the Certosa villa.
However, according to sources quoted by Italian news service ANSA late last year, the family will keep a special home.
The Villa San Martino near Milan – the scene of the former prime minister's infamous “bunga-bunga” orgies – cannot be sold.
An image of Poseidon is carved into the floor of Villa Certosa's interior lagoon
This image supposedly shows a lagoon inside Villa Certosa
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's villa “Villa Certosa”, Porto Rotondo, near Olbia, Sardinia, Italy
Villa San Martino in Lombardy was originally the home of the Berlusconi family, but became infamous for the Italian prime minister's bunga bunga parties
Billionaire Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi was equally famous for his “bunga-bunga” sex parties and for serving as prime minister three times
Ruby the Heart Stealer (real name Karima Keyek) was the 17-year-old Moroccan-born prostitute who stole Berlusconi's affections at one of the many Bunga Bunga parties
Berlusconi bought it with the proceeds of his investment in Italy's 1960s building boom and filled the mansion with Renaissance paintings and other treasures.
The artwork provided the backdrop for his less-than-family-friendly parties, where a star guest was a 17-year-old Moroccan-born dancer nicknamed “Ruby the Heart Stealer.”
In the basement he is said to have seen showgirls from his own television stations dressed as nuns performing pole dances and stripteases – events that Berlusconi later described as “elegant soirees”.
Today the mansion serves as the resting place for Berlusconi's ashes.
“Villa San Martino must stay alive.” “We want it to remain the venue for business meetings and of course the meeting place for our family,” said Berlsuconi’s daughter Marina, who is also chairwoman of the family holding company Fininvest.
'It is something [my father] I would have liked it.'
Marina is also expected to remain the owner of Villa Campari, a mansion on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, while younger sister Barbara will buy Villa Macherio near Milan.
Berlusconi is pictured with his 33-year-old “wife” Marta Fascina, a lawmaker from his Forza Italia party
Villa Belinzaghi in Como, one of Berlusconi's two lakeside homes, costs £11 million – but your neighbor is George Clooney
The Palazzo Grazioli is a huge townhouse in the center of Rome full of art
The residence of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Villa Gernetto, in Lesmo. Here he staged his “wedding” to 33-year-old Marta Fascina
Berlusconi's estate in Emerald Cove on the Caribbean island of Antigua
Paraggi Castle in Portofino is a 17th-century fortress that belonged to Berlusconi and was once occupied by Napoleon's troops
Notable residences for sale include Villa Grande on Rome's ancient Via Appia, once owned by film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli, and Villa Gernetto, a sprawling residence in Lesmo where Berlusconi held his pseudo-wedding Fascina staged.
The Berlusconi children, anxious to avoid family disputes over inheritance, recently signed an agreement regulating the distribution of Fininvest.
It is unclear whether Fascina – 53 years younger than Berlusconi – will receive one of Berlusconi's former properties.
The couple never officially married, reportedly due to concerns from the Berlusconi family, who were wary of Fascina attempting to usurp the inheritance.
But Fascina received a hefty sum of €100 million after the death of her older lover.
Berlsuconi's children in legal dispute with witness from the “Bunga Bunga” party
Silvio Berlusconi's children are embroiled in a bitter legal battle against one of the participants in his notorious “Bunga Bunga” sex parties.
The five heirs of the former Italian prime minister are appearing as plaintiffs in a trial in Monza against Giovanna Rigato, an “Olgettina” and former Big Brother contestant, whom they accuse of trying to extort a million euros from her late father, court sources said Tuesday.
The “Olgettine” were women who attended Berlusconi's X-rated soirées and were allegedly given properties on Milan's Via Olgettina and hush money to swear they weren't at the sex parties.
Giovanna Rigato
The saga began in 2016 when Berlusconi himself accused the glamor model of trying to blackmail him for a million euros in return for silence about the parties.
He reported Rigato, then 35, to the public prosecutor's office, claiming that she had demanded that the money be transferred to a foreign bank account.
It is alleged that Rigato initially demanded €500,000 from the controversial politician before doubling the requested sum.
Rigato must appear in court again in Monza in April.
Source: ANSA