THE ANNOTICO REPORT

Not a Big Surprise, since Silvio has always been a "ladies man", or to some a womanizer (to the willing) :) 
However his current wife can garner only limited sympathy, if any. 
The two met in Milan in 1980, when she was an actress in a play called ironically titled "The Magnificent Cuckold" and he was a married, up-and-coming real estate tycoon. Mr. Berlusconi left his first wife for Ms. Lario. They had three children before marrying in 1990.

Lario's affair with Massimo Cacciari, the mayor of Venice, was publicly acknowledged by Silvio. Lario often travels for months at a time to the Far East or Latin America. Ms. Lario only rarely is seen with her husband, and states "We have separate lives". 

If Ms. Lario does file for divorce, it is unclear whether Mr. Berlusconi, 72, will be affected politically. Despite colorful gaffes that would sink a politician elsewhere, Mr. Berlusconi enjoys more power and popularity than ever, thanks to the disarray of his left-wing opposition and his brilliant reading of Italian sensibilities. 

In fact, part of Mr. Berlusconi’s success lies in his ability to present himself at once as a devoted family man and as a consummate ladies’ man, a contradiction embodied in his marriage to Ms. Lario. 

Berlusconi’s Wife Says She Wants a Divorce 

New York Times
Rachel Donadio
May 4, 2009
 

Veronica Lario and Silvio Berlusconi

ROME - Less than a week after writing an open letter criticizing her husband for cavorting with much younger women, the wife of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said she wanted to file for divorce. 

“I’d like to close the curtain on our married life," Mr. Berlusconi’s wife, Veronica Lario, 52, told the center-left daily newspaper La Repubblica in an article published Sunday. "I was forced to take this step," she told the Turin daily newspaper La Stampa. "I don’t want to add anything else." 

On Sunday, an assistant to Ms. Lario, Paola Giponi, confirmed the press reports, while Mr. Berlusconi released a brief statement to the ANSA news agency. "It’s a personal matter, and one that saddens me," the prime minister said. "It’s a private issue that’s best not discussed."

Yet this private issue has unfolded almost entirely through the news media, with Ms. Lario taking her grievances to the press and Mr. Berlusconi parrying them there, too. The story has thrived in the personality-driven tabloid and political culture that Mr. Berlusconi helped create.

If Ms. Lario does file for divorce, it is unclear whether Mr. Berlusconi, 72, will be affected politically. Despite colorful gaffes that would sink a politician elsewhere, Mr. Berlusconi enjoys more power and popularity than ever, thanks to the disarray of his left-wing opposition and his brilliant reading of Italian sensibilities. 

In fact, part of Mr. Berlusconi’s success lies in his ability to present himself at once as a devoted family man and as a consummate ladies’ man, a contradiction embodied in his marriage to Ms. Lario. 

The two met in Milan in 1980, when she was an actress in a play called "The Magnificent Cuckold" and he was a married, up-and-coming real estate tycoon. Mr. Berlusconi left his first wife for Ms. Lario. They had three children before marrying in a civil ceremony in 1990.

The news of the impending breakup came after days of drama. On Tuesday, Ms. Lario wrote an open letter to the ANSA news agency complaining about her husband’s roving eye, her second such public declaration in recent years. 

Ms. Lario criticized reports that Mr. Berlusconi’s center-right coalition planned to nominate a slate of attractive young women for the European Parliament, including the star of a reality television show.

Choosing candidates seemingly on the basis of their headshots more than their political experience is "shamelessly trashy," Ms. Lario said. 

She was also angered by press reports that Mr. Berlusconi had attended the 18th birthday party in Naples of Noemi Letizia, who has said in several recent interviews that she called the prime minister "Daddy" and that he gave her a gold and diamond necklace.

“That surprised me," Ms. Lario told ANSA. "Because he never attended the 18th birthday parties of his own children, even if he was invited"

Mr. Berlusconi countered that his wife has been subject to the "manipulations" of the left-wing press. "I’m afraid that the ‘signora’ believed what she read in the newspapers," ANSA quoted him as saying last Wednesday.

In the ensuing days, Italian newspaper Web sites have carried pictures of Ms. Letizia posing in her underwear, and the national conversation has been dominated by speculation about the nature of the relationship between her and the prime minister.

Mr. Berlusconi told the Italian press that Ms. Letizia was the daughter of a business acquaintance and that he stopped by the large party "to raise a glass."

On Sunday, La Repubblica said that Ms. Lario had been contemplating divorce for years. In hiring a lawyer and opening proceedings, "I would like to avoid conflict," La Repubblica quoted her as saying. 

Yet any divorce would inevitably cause inheritance battles between Mr. Berlusconi’s two children from his first marriage and the three from his marriage with Ms. Lario over control of his vast real estate and media empire, valued in the billions of dollars. 

Mr. Berlusconi and Ms. Lario are rarely seen in public together, and there has been palace intrigue for years. 

In 2007, La Repubblica published a letter from Ms. Lario in which she demanded an apology from Mr. Berlusconi after news reports quoted him as praising the beauty of a showgirl whom he later named equal opportunities minister, saying: "If I weren’t already married, I would marry you right now."

Ms. Lario, at the time, wrote: "These are statements I consider damaging to my dignity."

The same day, Mr. Berlusconi, who was running for a third term as prime minister, quickly issued a public apology, which political analysts speculated was aimed at winning over female voters.

“Your dignity should not be an issue: I will guard it like a precious material in my heart even when thoughtless jokes come out of my mouth," Mr. Berlusconi wrote then. He added: "Forgive me, however, I beg of you, and take this public testimony of private pride that submits to your anger as an act of love. One among many. A huge kiss. Silvio."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/world/europe/04iht-italy.html?_r=1&ref=world

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