The family of the late Berlusconi began to get rid of paintings from his collection

The children of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi inherited billions from his empire, but are facing a problem. They don’t know what to do with his extensive art collection, stored in a warehouse opposite his home near Milan. What will they do?

The former Italian prime minister, who died in June 2023 aged 86, reportedly amassed 25,000 works of art in his quest to become a top art collector. At the time of his death, the Italian politician had a capital of 6 billion euros.

Deputy Culture Minister and art critic Vittorio Sgarbi said Berlusconi began buying works of art through television auctions in 2018 during “sleepless nights.” He also noted that most of the paintings have no value. Of these, only 6-8 can claim artistic significance. He told the investigative series Report for Rai that Berlusconi spent about 20 million euros on what Sgarbi called a collection of “crusts”. The focus was on quantity rather than quality. The art critic noted that “people who know little about art may enjoy visiting the museum that houses these works.”

According to the newspaper La Repubblica, the collection has become a heavy burden for Berlusconi’s five children. Mainly because it costs about 800 thousand euros a year to maintain it. The warehouse is opposite the Villa San Martino, Berlusconi’s main residence in Arcore near Milan. Its area is more than 3 thousand square meters.

According to The Guardian, one of the first experts Berlusconi called during the late-night televised auction was Lucas Vianini. He later became the chief curator of the billionaire’s collection.

“It was in 2018 when the telephone operator told me that Berlusconi called,” Vianini recalls in Report. Later Vianini was invited to the Villa San Martino. Vianini said he oversaw the paintings, which included landscapes and images of Berlusconi’s favorite cities: Milan, Naples, Venice and Paris. Describing the warehouse opposite the Villa San Martino, Vianini noted: “Berlusconi liked everything to be in order… it’s not a warehouse, it’s more of a boutique.”

Another art dealer, Cesare Lampronti, spent 30 years interacting with the former prime minister of Italy and admitted, “he was an impulsive buyer and knew full well what he was buying was worthless.” He also recalled that when the politician was younger, he would go and buy paintings from galleries and art dealers, and later began buying by watching television auctions.”

His collection also includes hundreds of paintings of religious figures that were purchased from the Newarte Gallery. Owner Giuseppe De Gregorio told Report that he couldn’t believe it when Berlusconi called him and asked about the painting, which cost 150 euros.

“He said, ‘I’ll take it!’” De Gregorio recalls. Business relations and friendship blossomed between them: De Gregorio gave Berlusconi a three-meter marble statue of the politician for his birthday, which the birthday boy placed in front of a huge self-portrait displayed in the warehouse.

In contrast to the collection, the residence of the former Italian prime minister contains works from the Renaissance and paintings by the Dutch artist Rembrandt.

La Repubblica reported that the Berlusconi family plans to get rid of the collection, with the exception of a few works considered the most valuable. “I don’t know if the parting with these paintings has already begun. I know that, at least on an artistic level, this would not be a crime,” the newspaper quotes Sgarbi as saying.

In addition to his vast collection, Berlusconi left behind an empire that included a football club, real estate, yachts and his main asset, Mediaset, Italy’s largest commercial broadcaster, worth more than 6 billion euros. He also left 100 million euros to his “symbolic” wife Marta Fascina, the same amount to his younger brother Paolo and 30 million euros to the former senator from his Forza Italia party, Marcello Dell’Utri, who was serving a prison sentence for connections with the mafia.

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