Even after his death, Silvio Berlusconi, Il Cavaliere, prime minister, billionaire, and scandal magnet, continues to entertain.
The heirs of former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi will keep some of the thousands of artworks he amassed largely from TV shopping channels, a family spokesperson said on Friday, after media reports that the collection faced destruction.
Italian media say the billionaire, who died in June aged 86, had rented a huge warehouse near his villa in the town of Arcore to house some 25,000 mainly low-value items, including paintings and statues, bought from late-night TV auction shows. . . .
According to pictures in La Repubblica, it includes paintings of nudes, and portraits and statues of Berlusconi.
To be fair, the collection does include works by Titian, de Chirico, and other notables, but . . .
Vittorio Sgarbi, an art critic and also deputy culture minister in the coalition government led by Giorgia Meloni, said: “Of the 25,000 paintings, there are only six or seven of artistic interest.” . . .
La Repubblica reported smoke rising from the warehouse, speculating that some of the paintings had already been burned.
“I don’t know whether the destruction of the paintings has started already,” said Mr Sgarbi. “I do know that, at least from an artistic point of view, it would not be a crime.”
Ouch.