Berlusconi Family Considers Burning Late PM's Vast, Low-Value Art Collection Bought from TV Shopping Channels

Berlusconi's heirs mull over options as the late PM's 25,000-piece 'worthless' collection, purchased mostly from TV sales and estimated at €20 million, proves to be a financial and logistical burden due to high maintenance costs and infestations.

The late Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family is considering burning his extensive collection of largely low-value erotic art, which includes 25,000 pieces bought predominantly from TV shopping channels, due to high maintenance costs and infestations.
Berlusconi spent an estimated €20 million amassing his art collection, with notable pieces ranging from landscapes to explicit depictions of women, as well as a 10ft tall white marble statue of himself.
The art collection is stored in a warehouse near Villa San Martino, Berlusconi's 18th-century residence near Milan, which costs around €800,000 a year to maintain. Exterminating the woodworms infesting the art's frames would reportedly exceed the value of the paintings.
According to art critic Vittorio Sgarbi, out of the 25,000 pieces in the collection, only six or seven have any artistic value. Sgarbi suggests Berlusconi started collecting the poor-quality pieces when he could no longer fill his evenings with beautiful women.
Despite reports of the collection being burnt or sold, a family spokesperson has stated that each of Berlusconi's five children will keep some pieces, with further decisions regarding the remainder of the collection to be made later.