Silvio Berlusconi heirs weigh up fate of his mostly worthless art collection

Italian former PM estimated to have spent €20m on artworks, often buying through TV auctions

The heirs of Silvio Berlusconi inherited billions from his empire but now they are faced with a dilemma: what to do with his vast collection of mostly worthless artwork, including paintings of nude women and the Madonna, stored in a warehouse opposite his home near Milan.

The former prime minister, who died in June at the age of 86, reportedly amassed the 25,000 works during the final years of his life, buying the majority from late-night shopping channels in his quest to become a top collector.

Vittorio Sgarbi, an undersecretary at the culture ministry, art critic and close friend of Berlusconi, said the compulsion for buying art sold through TV auctions began in earnest in 2018 as a result of “sleepless nights”.

He told Report, the investigative series broadcast on Rai, that Berlusconi spent an estimated €20m on what Sgarbi described as a collection of “daubs”, and the focus appeared to be on quantity rather than quality.

According to La Repubblica newspaper, the collection is a burden for Berlusconi’s five offspring, not least because it costs €800,000 a year to maintain the huge warehouse opposite Villa San Martino, his main residence in Arcore near Milan, in which the works are stored.

One of the first experts to receive a call from Berlusconi during a late-night TV auction was Lucas Vianini, who then became the billionaire’s chief curator.

“It was in 2018 when the telephone operator told me Berlusconi had called,” Vianini told Report. Vianini was later invited to Villa San Martino. “The first thing I saw was Dudu [a dog], and then Berlusconi appeared,” he said.

Vianini said he curated paintings including ones of landscapes and those depicting Berlusconi’s favourite cities, Milan and Paris. Describing the warehouse opposite Villa San Martino, Vianini said: “Berlusconi liked everything to be in order … it wasn’t a warehouse, it was more of a boutique.”

Berlusconi’s warehouse is understood to contain a number of paintings of nude women, although it is unclear where they were sourced.

Hundreds of paintings of religious figures came from Galleria Newarte, a merchant near Naples. The owner, Giuseppe De Gregorio, told Report that he couldn’t believe it when he received a call from Berlusconi inquiring about a painting worth €150.

“He said: ‘I’ll take it!’,” De Gregorio recalled. Business dealings and a friendship between the pair blossomed, with De Gregorio giving Berlusconi a three-metre marble statue of the politician for his birthday, which Berlusconi placed in front of a huge self-portrait on display in the warehouse.

La Repubblica reported that the Berlusconi family was planning to demolish the art collection, save for a few pieces deemed to be the most valuable. “I don’t know if the destruction of those paintings has already started,” Sgarbi was cited by the newspaper as saying. “I do know that, at least on an artistic level, it wouldn’t be a crime.”

Berlusconi left behind an empire that included a football club, properties, yachts and his main asset, Mediaset, Italy’s largest commercial broadcaster, worth more than €6bn, mostly to his children. He also left €100m to his partner, Marta Fascina, €100m to his brother Paolo, and €30m to Marcello Dell’Utri, a former senator with his Forza Italia party who served jail time for association with the mafia.

The family is believed to be considering turning Villa San Martino, where Berlusconi hosted business and political meetings as well as some of his famous “bunga bunga” parties, into a museum.

This article was amended on 20 October 2023. An earlier version said Sgarbi described the art as a collection of “crusts”. This has now been changed to “daubs”.

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