25 February 2010 - The Independent
George Clooney is selling his Lake Como property which has a £26
million asking price
The paparazzi who lie in wait on the shores of Lake Como hoping
for a snapshot of a star received some disastrous news yesterday:
George Clooney, who has had an exclusive €30m (£26m) villa there
since 2001, is selling up, depriving the photographers of the
area's most bankable celebrity. But hope is at hand in the form of
David and Victoria Beckham, who are said to be locked in a bidding
war to buy the property.
They are said to be the front-runners in the rush to buy the
villa, formerly the home of the Heinz family. But they are by no
means guaranteed to secure the prize: they face serious competition
in the form of a billionaire Russian vodka magnate.
It is no surprise that Villa Oleandra is so in demand. The
opulent building, set in the almost other-worldly beauty of Lake
Como and screened by topiary and red geraniums, is probably the
most sought-after pad in all of celebrity-obsessed Italy,
especially now that it's been the home of Hollywood royalty. And
although the price is high, estate agents say that such desirable
properties as this 18th-century one set in the lakeside village of
Laglio, rarely come on to the market.
Clooney, who paid a mere €7m for the villa in 2001, hopes the
€23m equity should be enough for him and his Italian TV personality
fiancée Elisabetta Canalis to find something liveable in a quieter,
seaside location.
Canalis was said to have been irritated by the pestering of
autograph-hunters. The attention grew so great that last year Mayor
Pozzi, first citizen of Laglio, introduced local laws forbidding
anyone to gather in a group of more than three people in sight of
the actor's home - or face a €19 fine. In June, Clooney was even
stopped by police on motorbikes, only to be asked for his
autograph.
The prospect of being constantly photographed outside a
beautiful villa, surrounded by verdant hills and overlooked by the
Alps is less likely to phase Victoria Beckham, however. According
to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Beckhams have already
sent their lawyers scuttling around to meet Clooney's. The former
England captain, who is on loan to AC Milan, has previously said he
is "in love" with Villa Oleandra. "There's peace and quiet and it's
near to Milan," he said. "I'd love to live here with my
family."
With José Mourinho further down the lake and Donatella Versace
owning a home a short drive away, the aspirational Brits would
consider themselves in good company. David could drive to training
sessions in Milan in 40 minutes and drop off Victoria for a spot of
shopping in Milan on the way. However, a formidable stumbling block
has emerged in the form of 48-year-old Russian Roustam Tariko. The
magnate is said to have already offered the €30m asking price.
The Russian might have wealth on his side - in addition to vodka
distilleries, there are banking and insurance interests that Forbes
magazine says brings his total wealth to over a billion dollars -
but the locals are batting for Posh and Becks, according to the
Italian papers. The Laglio residents have voiced concerns that
"Lagliowood" is being turned into "Laglioburg", following a rash of
vulgar mooring extensions in nearby lakeside villas as new Russian
money makes itself seen in the area.
They fear that Lake Como might suffer the same fate as Tuscany's
up-market seaside resort Forti dei Marmi, where the fur coat shops
and Ferrari showrooms threaten to outnumber the trattorias as
Russian millionaires take over. "The residents of Laglio had grown
quite fond of Clooney," said Mayor Pozzi. "Beckham? Let's hope he
buys it; in that way we can maintain a certain glamour." And, say
observers, the area's constant rise in property prices.