Beautiful villas and magnificent buildings (and alleged stunning archeological finds), those are Mr Berlusconi's properties, where lunches, dinners, political meetings and bunga-bunga parties have been hosted, with celebrities, politicians and hordes of gorgeous women.
As Silvio Berlusconi's second marriage headed to its end, in December 2012, the value of the properties in his hand – though three financial institution, Dolcedrago, Immobiliare Idra e Immobiliare Dueville – was about 380 million euro (£325m or $500m, at current rates*). On this web page we are collecting the most interesting proprieties of the portfolio, beautiful villas.
* Beginning of 2013
Villa Campari Mellerio, aka “Il Gernetto” (Lesa, Province of Novara, Piedmont)
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| Berlusconi's Villa Campari, on the Lake Maggiore |
Apparently
Berlusconi acquired the 30-odd-room art nouveau villa in 2008, to get respite
from hordes of paparazzis and VIPs who knew too well his Sardinia's
Villa Certosa and the other properties.
The
name of the beautiful residence on the Lake Maggiore comes from the
fact that the owners were the family Campari, known for the alcoholic bitter
liquor, essential ingredient of a few cocktails, like the Negroni,
the Garibaldi, and the Americano (see Wikipedia Campari's page for more
information).
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| Vill Campari and its park |
In
2015 Berlusconi's 2nd ex-wife Veronica Lario asked judges
to distrain the property from her ex-husband, as the former couple
quarrelled over the details of their separation (it was all about the
monies). In the end they settled for a €1.4m monthly alimony (that
was $1.5m or £1.0m back in June 2015), some deemed not to have been
a bad deal for the former actress (but that's another story).
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| Villa Mellerio, aka Villa Gernetto, aka Villa Somaglia |
Villa Mellerio, aka “Il Gernetto” (via Volta – Hamlet of Gerno, Lesmo, Province of Monza and Brianza)
Built in the second half of the eighteenth century, the smashing Villa Mellerio (also known as Villa Somaglia) was later enlarged by Giambattista Mellerio – vice-president of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia – and – in 1815 – by architect Somaglia (hence the names).
The property was owned by count Rozzoni's family and marquis Molinari's family, whoever they might be (it's something the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera once stated).
In 2010 Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest acquired the eighteenth-century villa, apparently to become the main residence of the former prime minister of Italy (at the same time rumours had it Villa Certosa was about to be dismissed, but Silvio's lawyer Nicolò Ghedini dismissed the rumours instead...).
Around the villa lies a beautiful park covering 300,000 square meters (about 74 acres, or 3.2m square feet, if we calculated well). Bear in mind that London's St. James's Park is 57 acres large (or 23 hectares), according to Wikipedia, i.e... quite smaller.
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| The gorgeous interiors of Villa Mellerio, or Gernetto, or Somaglia |
Apparently the villa will house the “University of Liberal Thought” (ULT?) - a project launched back in 2006, but never accomplished - even though the Italian magnate has reserved the first floor for himself (which should be large enough to held a few bunga-bunga parties).
Lesmo also gives its name to the famous 90-degree curves of Monza's circuit (it has nothing to do with Berlusconi whatsoever, it's just a curiosity).
Lesmo also gives its name to the famous 90-degree curves of Monza's circuit (it has nothing to do with Berlusconi whatsoever, it's just a curiosity).
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| (Ex) Villa Borletti, Via Rovani 2, Milan |
(Ex) Villa Borletti (Via Rovani 2, Milano)
This is the place where Silvio's lover Veronica Lario was kept hidden, from 1980 on. Veronica (her real name is Raffaella Miriam Bartolini) eventually became the media tycoon's second wife, after divorcing from Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio (I mean the media tycoon, not the acress. Silvio divorced from Carla, in order to wed Veronica, whose real name is Raffaella Miriam. Got it?).
On 28 November 1986 a bomb exploded at the gate of the villa, causing minor damages. On a phone call with Marcello Dell'Utri, Silvio Berlusconi accused former employee (and Mafioso) Vittorio Mangano, who already placed a bomb at the same building in 1975, saying that he was probably asking for money. «He could have phoned me» Silvio Berlusconi said to the carabineers «if he asked for 30m lira, I would have given it to him».
On 28 November 1986 a bomb exploded at the gate of the villa, causing minor damages. On a phone call with Marcello Dell'Utri, Silvio Berlusconi accused former employee (and Mafioso) Vittorio Mangano, who already placed a bomb at the same building in 1975, saying that he was probably asking for money. «He could have phoned me» Silvio Berlusconi said to the carabineers «if he asked for 30m lira, I would have given it to him».
The huge villa, which is located in downtown Milan very close to Milan's Castello Sforzesco, will later become the headquarters of Berlusconi family's financial firm Fininvest.
The propriety was called Villa Borletti, then former Villa Borletti (but apparently didn't get a new name).
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| Villa San Martino, Arcore |
In 1980 Silvio Berlusconi's Immobiliare Idra bought the villa, where the entrepreneur turned politician lived with his first wife Carla Dall'Oglio whilst his lover – Veronica Lario – was secretly residing in the property of Via Rovani 2.
It is the current residence of Silvio Berlusconi (as per April 2013), where he lives with girlfriend Francesca Pascale, and – apparently – with his would-be mother-in-law, Francesca's mother. [update: baloney we picked it somewhere. Francesca's mother died in 2007 from a very aggressive stomach cancer. RIP. Sorry for that, we should double check our sources.]. Recently Dudù the poodle joined the merry band.
In the past it was a monastery of the order of Saint Benedict, in more recent years it became the stage of the bunga-bunga parties, where hordes of women and young girls (regular guests were invited to dine, dance and – perhaps – to do something else.
In 1974 the entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi bought the entire property: the villa, complete with an art gallery, a library of ten thousand volumes - for the care of which was hired Marcello Dell'Utri (an admirer of Benito Mussolini convicted for Mafia collusion in 2012), as a librarian – furnitures and a park with stable, where was hired mobster Vittorio Mangano (with the help of the above mentioned librarian).
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| Villa Belvedere, Macherio |
Villa Belvedere (Macherio, Province of Monza and Brianza), also known as Villa Visconti di Modrone.
The building originates in the XVI century, but the villa was almost completely refurbished in the beginning of the XX century, based on a design by architect Emilio Alemagna (duke Guido Visconti di Modrone had purchased it in 1872)..
Macherio is a small town (population of 6,751 as of 31 December 2004, according to Wikipedia) 20 km North-East of Milan.
After the separation from Silvio Berlusconi (December 2012), it became the residence of the billionaire's second wife, Veronica Lario, and two of their children, Eleonora and Luigi. The first-born daughter Barbara Berlusconi had already moved out in 2010, into a 540 -square-metre (that is more than 5,800 sq. ft.) flat in Milan.
Villa Certosa (Porto Rotondo, Province of Olbia-Tempio, Sardinia) is a magnificent villa located near the promontory of Punta Lada. The estate covers a surface of 168 acres (about 680,000 square metres), has 68 rooms and it includes a few amenities, like an amphitheatre, six swimming pools, an artificial lake and an man-made volcano.
Previously called Villa Monastero (“Villa Monastery”), the former prime minister of Italy rebaptised it Certosa (in English “charterhouse”), after purchasing the propriety in the end of the '70s from Gianni Onorato, owner of local TV broadcaster “La Voce Sarda” (“The Sardinian Voice”).
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| Villa Certosa or "La Certosa", bird's-eye view |
It was at Villa Certosa that Silvio Berlusconi “pulled the machine gun's trigger” on a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin (click here to watch the video).
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| An artificial lake at Berlusconi's villa La Certosa |
In June 2009, in one of the transcripts of Mr Berlusconi's purported conversations with the escort Patrizia D’Addario (stage name: Patricia Brummel), the politician boasted about his sprawling villa in Sardinia, complete with artificial lakes, an ice cream parlour, and 30 Phoenician tombs from (around) 300 BC (apparently never reported to the Italian archeological authorities).
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| Silvio Berlusconi with Hosni mubarak at Villa Certosa |
In September 2012 rumours had it villa was on sale for a price tag between 450 and 470 million euro, but Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolò Ghedini denied it, declaring that no negotiation was on course.
In August 2013 the Spanish newspaper Abc disclosed that the villa was to be sold to a family based in Madrid, through the agency Ilamada Proto Organization (apparently among its clients you can find Brad Pitt, Cristiano Ronaldo and George Cloney) at a price of around 400m euro (which is an amount of about £341m or $533m).
Nothwithstanding the denials, Berlusconi has repeatedly tried to sell the villa (which he visited only three times between 2013 and 2015), to his good friend Vladimir Putin and to United Arab Emirates' Al Nayah royal family.
In August 2015 some Italian and British newspapers reported that the villa was been sold to the Saudi Royal family, in the person of heir to the throne Mohammed bin Nayaef (the current king is Salman bin Abdelaziz al Saud), for a price of about 500m euro, that is about £360m). Mohammed bin Nayaef' had a 5-hour inspection of the estate.
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The well guarded Palazzo Grazioli,
Rome's residence of Mr Berlusconi
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Palazzo Grazioli (Via del Plebiscito 102 between the Palazzo Doria Pamphili and Palazzo Altieri in Rome, Italy)
Is a propriety that Silvio Berlusconi rents as residence when he is in Rome.
According to some, several bunga-bunga parties were held in the palace (model Barbara Montereale revealed that Patrizia D'Addario, a prostitute, told her she had had sex with Silvio Berlusconi there).
According to the internet news site “Il blitz quotidiano” Berlusconi (or someone on his behalf, possibly the People of Liberty party, using Italian “public financing of political parties”) pays 2,128,288 euro per annum for the rent (£1,815,290 or $2,787,205 at current exchange rates, as per April 2013). Berlusconi lawyer Niccolò Ghedini denies it.
Villa Olivetta, in Portofino
Villa Olivetta, in Portofino
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| Portofino's Villa Olivetta |
It was the residence of Silvio Berlusconi from 1980 until the end of the '90s, when fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana purchased it for 10 billion (it was 10 billion lira, at that time, i.e. 5.16m euro or 4.45 British pound).
Actually the magnificent villa never was owned by the media billionaire, he merely rented it from the family Trossi Fracassi, which repeatedly refused to sell the property to Mr Berlusconi (apparently they did not like him... how can you dislike Silvio?).
The villa is a three-storey castle-like building, with an annexe of 100 sq. metre (no clues about its use, but would you be surprise to find any women in it?).
About 50 metres away lies Italian stylist Giorgio Armani's villa, Castel San Giorgio.
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