Villa Certosa, the Sardinian residence beloved by Silvio Berlusconi, will be put up for sale. Berlusconi's children have agreed to sell the Costa Smeralda residence for 500 million euros, reports the Financial Times (Ft) front page today, citing three people familiar with the operation. Berlusconi, the newspaper recalls, hosted the world's most powerful leaders in the property, including former US President George W Bush, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Potential Buyers

Among the potential buyers, Ft comments, are Arab billionaires, Americans, and international hotel groups. The sale will not be advertised, the sources emphasize, and visits should start this month. Ft also recalls that the villa was valued at 260 million euros in 2021.

The Price

One of the sources commented that the current asking price is higher than the sum the family expects from the sale. The newspaper also underlines that Villa Certosa had already been put on the market in 2010 and 2015, but Berlusconi had always denied rumors of a potential sale. According to the media, the newspaper continues, Berlusconi had rejected an offer of 500 million euros in 2015 from the Saudi royal family, who had previously tried to acquire the property.

The villa with 126 rooms

Berlusconi bought this 110-hectare villa in Costa Smeralda in the late '80s, completely renovating it. The property has direct access to the Mediterranean Sea, several swimming pools, tennis courts, gardens the size of 80 soccer fields, and an amphitheater. The villa extends over 4,500 square meters and has 126 rooms, 4 bungalows, a gym, a greenhouse, a theater, a tower, and two properties nicknamed 'Ibuscus' and 'Cactus'. The property also includes a 181 square meter garage, a park, and a 297 square meter medicinal garden. Before Silvio Berlusconi's purchase in the late eighties, the residence was called Villa Monastero: after acquiring it from the previous owner, Gianni Onorato, the former Prime Minister decided to call it Villa Certosa.

Silvio's summer residence

With Berlusconi's arrival, the Porto Rotondo villa was renovated and expanded: the project was entrusted to Gianni Gamondi, Berlusconi's trusted architect and designer of many Costa Smeralda residences. Among Silvio Berlusconi's favorite places, Villa Certosa has long been the summer residence of the former Prime Minister. In addition to providing a refuge from Berlusconi's institutional and entrepreneurial commitments, the villa has also been used to welcome Heads of State and Government. Among the illustrious personalities welcomed at Villa Certosa are: US President George Washington Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Spaniards José Zapatero and José Maria Aznar.