Silvio Berlusconi's pad Villa Certosa goes on sale for $572m

A VILLA owned by Italy's ex-leader Silvio Berlusconi may be about to be sold for some 460 million euros ($572 million).

villa certosa

A VILLA owned by Italy's ex-leader Silvio Berlusconi and made famous by lurid photos of cavorting guests may be about to be sold for some 460 million euros ($572 million), La Repubblica daily said.

Billionaire Mr Berlusconi has reportedly been looking for a buyer for Villa Certosa in Sardinia since 2009, after a paparazzi photographer took 7000 pictures of a private party at the villa involving bare-breasted young ladies.

An Arabian prince and a Russian magnate are among those thought to be meeting in the next few days with the Idra agency which manages Mr Berlusconi's properties, La Repubblica said, quoting the local La Nuova Sardegna newspaper.

Villa Certosa sprawls over some 80 hectares (200 acres), with three villas, seven swimming pools and a park that includes a lake, artificial volcanoes and thousands of palm trees, cacti and rare plants, according to media reports.

The main villa, situated on the stunning Costa Smeralda and boasting seven bedrooms, is reserved for Mr Berlusconi. The second is used by his children, while the third has housed prestigious guests, from Vladimir Putin to Tony Blair.

Mr Berlusconi is said to have gone off the villa after the Spanish daily El Pais published photographs showing topless women as well as a nude former Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek sprawling by the poolside.

The pictures emerged in June 2009 soon after a scandal erupted over Mr Berlusconi's attendance at the 18th birthday party of an aspiring model, prompting his already estranged wife Veronica Lario to seek a divorce.

Rumours at the end of 2009 that Abu Dhabi's crown prince was ready to snap up the villa for some 450 million euros were later denied.