The property has several swimming pools, including one in a sea cave.Credit: Sotheby’s
But perhaps one of the villa’s most striking features is its access to a sea-cave where boats can be kept.
The existence of the cave had been rumoured for years, but a photographer managed to obtain images of it in 2012. It features a swimming pool, whose floor is decorated with a mosaic of Poseidon, the god of the sea, holding a trident.
The cave is connected to the rest of the villa by stairs and a passageway, which are illuminated by discreetly placed lights set into the floor.
An aeriel view of Silvio Berlusconi’s Villa Certosa on the north-eastern coast of Sardinia.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
“It was the secret services who asked me to carry out the work, after I had received 38 death threats,” the three-times prime minister once said.
The property, located in Porto Rotondo on the north coast of Sardinia, is currently owned by the five adult children of Berlusconi, who gained international notoriety for his dalliances with young women following his divorce, and for the so-called bunga bunga parties he held at his properties in Sardinia, Milan and Rome.
The villa is being sold by Sotheby’s International Realty in collaboration with Knight Castle Real Estate.
“Elegantly cascading over several levels, La Certosa reveals itself through expansive loggias and panoramic terraces that frame mesmerising views of the Gulf of Marinella,” Sotheby’s says on its website.
“At its heart lies a spacious central courtyard, around which unfold a magnificent main hall, lavish guest suites, and private staff accommodations.
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“The interiors are a celebration of craftsmanship, with hand-painted ceramics and refined touches in Sardinian white granite, creating an ambience of understated grandeur.
“Among the many distinctive features are a wellness and fitness area, a private heliport, and even a nuclear-grade underground bunker.”
Berlusconi died in 2023 at the age of 86 and was granted a lavish funeral in Milan’s imposing cathedral.
He had to resign as prime minister in 2011 when Italy became immersed in the eurozone crisis.
At the time, his reputation was also damaged by a series of sex scandals, most notably involving allegations that he paid for sex with an underage prostitute, a Moroccan belly dancer who went by the name Ruby the Heart Stealer, during bunga bunga parties at his mansion in Milan.
The property, which has hosted powerful global leaders, is now owned by Berlusconi’s five adult children.Credit: Sotheby’s
Fininvest, the late prime minister’s holding company, confirmed that it had received “various expressions of interest” but said it would not divulge the identities of the potential bidder for privacy reasons.
“We would never comment on indiscretions regarding individual negotiators,” the company said.
There have been rumours about the sale of Villa Certosa in the past – notably a couple of years ago when it was said that the Sultan of Brunei was interested in purchasing it. A decade ago, there were reports that the Saudi royal family was interested.
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As with its former owner, the villa, on Sardinia’s exclusive Costa Smeralda, comes with a distinctly colourful past.
One of the abiding images of Berlusconi was of him at the villa, wearing a bandana to conceal his latest hair transplant, beaming as he stood next to the Blairs.
In 2009, during the height of Berlusconi’s libertine period, Antonello Zappadu, an Italian paparazzo, obtained long-lens photos of young women in bikinis lounging by the pool, along with Mirek Topolánek, the then-Czech prime minister, who was naked.
Berlusconi used his media empire to try to counter rumours that Villa Certosa was the setting for sex parties.
A magazine he owned, Chi (“Who” in English) attempted to present a rather different image of his social life, saying that a New Year’s Eve soiree had been enlivened by women dressed as Father Christmas, in red mini-dresses edged with fake white fur, black belts and Santa Claus hats.
There was nothing lascivious or improper about the performance insisted the magazine, which was owned by Berlusconi’s Mondadori publishing empire.
Telegraph, London
