From a princely private residence, with a successful stint as a state residence, to an ultra-luxury resort: this is the path paved for Villa Certosa, which the Berlusconi family has sold to a company controlled by Qatar.
The rumors circulating in Porto Rotondo were officially confirmed yesterday when a spokesperson for Immobiliare Idra, a Fininvest group company, confirmed "that it has accepted a binding offer from a foreign entity for the sale of Villa Certosa."
The foreign entity is Constellation Hotels Holding, a Luxembourg-based investment company, the real estate arm of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, former Prime Minister of Qatar, which has already appeared quietly in the documents of the Municipality of Olbia.
Several factors confirm that this is still a transitional phase. A representative of Idra Immobiliare will be attending the general meeting of the Porto Rotondo Consortium, which will renew its governance on July 11th, and Constellation is not currently a member.
However, he has already signed an observation to the Olbia Urban Planning Scheme (PUC), adopted just a few days ago: he requests some urban planning changes "in relation to an intervention aimed at redeveloping and enhancing the existing structures with a view to creating an ultra-luxury hotel (5 stars or higher)." The compendium, he writes, "guarantees high standards of exclusivity and privacy."