The historic Villa Certosa, the renowned summer residence of Silvio Berlusconi on the Costa Smeralda, has officially been sold by the heirs of the former prime minister to a company linked to Qatar’s royal family. The news, confirmed today by Fininvest, marks the conclusion of one of the most important real estate transactions ever carried out in Italy’s luxury sector.
According to the information that has emerged, the buyer is reportedly a company connected to Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, through Constellation Hotels Holding. The value of the transaction is said to be around €350 million, a figure that places the sale among the most significant in Italian real estate history.
Located in Porto Rotondo, in the heart of the Costa Smeralda, Villa Certosa represents much more than a private residence. The estate extends over approximately 120 hectares and includes more than 120 rooms, swimming pools, an amphitheatre, monumental gardens, artificial lakes, a spectacular underground grotto with direct access to the sea, and even the famous artificial volcano commissioned by Berlusconi. Over the years, it has hosted international leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities and heads of state from around the world.
The villa had been put on the market by Berlusconi’s heirs after the death of the founder of Fininvest in June 2023. Initially, the asking price had been indicated by industry operators as falling within a range of €300 million to €500 million, attracting the interest of sovereign wealth funds, royal families and major international investors.
The sale forms part of the broader process of rationalising the real estate assets left by Berlusconi to his five children. After months of rumours, expressions of interest and confidential negotiations, the Qatari offer was the one that convinced the family to proceed with the sale.
With the transfer of ownership, a chapter in Italy’s political, economic and social history symbolically comes to an end. For more than thirty years, Villa Certosa was one of the country’s most iconic places, the setting for diplomatic meetings, institutional holidays and moments that helped shape the personal and media myth of Silvio Berlusconi. Today, that symbol changes owner, entering a new phase of its history under the control of one of the most influential groups linked to Qatar’s monarchy.
Source: Reuters