Berlusconi's TV Art Acquisitions Revealed by Telemarket Host

In 2018, Silvio Berlusconi, the late former Italian prime minister, purchased artworks via televised auctions on Telemarket. Alessandro Orlando, the Telemarket host, recounted that during a live auction around midnight, a caller claiming to be Berlusconi bid €50,000 on a Madonna and Child painting from van Dyck's workshop. The operator dismissed it as a prank. A second call from Marta Fascina confirmed the bid. Berlusconi won the piece for €62,000, and Orlando personally delivered it to Arcore. Over the next two and a half years, Berlusconi bought 2,500 paintings from Orlando, including religious subjects, female nudes, and over a thousand Russian works, spending around €3 million. Vittorio Sgarbi commented that Berlusconi's collection of 24,000 works was amassed as a scenographic hunt, suggesting 2,400 good pieces would have been preferable. After Berlusconi's death, Orlando reflected on his passion for art and wondered about the collection's fate.