The Guardian carries an amusing little item on how Silvio Berlusconi's heirs were astonished to learn that a collection of some 25,000 paintings, on which he may have spent around 20 million euros, consists largely of worthless daubs

The former Prime Minister of Italy devoted several years of his life to collecting and, as so often happens, put his trust in dealers and in his own exquisite taste. He acquired entire galleries of portraits of churchmen, Madonnas, nude women, views of favourite cities and landscapes, at prices starting from 150 euros.

The author cites the opinion of Berlusconi's friend, the deputy minister of culture Vittorio Sgarbi, that the collection was assembled mostly through purchases at television auctions during "sleepless nights". That is, after a party, unable to sleep, he would switch on the shopping channel and buy everything in sight?

In the end, the thousands of canvases bought up by Berlusconi proved to be trash, which has become not an asset but a burden for his heirs, demanding the upkeep of an enormous warehouse at 800 thousand euros a year.

It is unclear how far this corresponds to reality, but Berlusconi's collection is considered so illiquid that there is serious talk of the desirability of destroying the greater part of it, to everyone's benefit. They might instead have given it to adorn some suburban railway stations.