ROME, Jan 16 — A Roman villa housing the only mural by Caravaggio and at the centre of a legal battle between a former Playboy model and the sons of her late husband, an Italian prince, will go up for auction Tuesday.
But the government might not have enough to cough up for it — the auction is only open to those who can put up 10 per cent of the starting price of €353 million euros — and rumoured buyers include Bill Gates and the Sultan of Brunei. Its sale is being held behind closed doors, and has been dubbed by Italian media as the “auction of the century” in its breathless reporting on the legal wrangling around it and who could buy it. Almost 35,000 people have called on the Italian government to exercise “its pre-emptive right” to buy the building and the Caravaggio, which alone is valued at €350 million, according to a petition on change.org.
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini wrote this month to Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the finance minister to raise the issue of the sale, according to reports.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.