The alleged Berlusconi soap bar has been an object of speculation for years
Keystone
A bar of soap allegedly made of fat removed from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has gone on show in Zurich.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
It is part of an exhibition at the Migros museum of contemporary art, whose news release explains that the fat was removed when Berlusconi underwent liposuction at a clinic in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino in 2004.
An employee of the clinic is said to have given it to the Geneva-based artist, Gianni Motti.
The soap, which is whitish in colour and measures 1.8 by 8.2 by 4.9 centimetres, hit the headlines when it was exhibited at the 2005 Art Basel fair. It was eventually sold to a private collector for tens of thousands of francs.
It has not been seen in public since then.
The clinic has denied even carrying out liposuction on Berlusconi. At the time, Motti said he was ready for a DNA test to be conducted on the soap, and he insisted again in an interview published in the French-language newspaper Le Matin on Friday that the soap was genuine.
The title of the soap exhibit is Mani Pulite – Clean Hands – the expression used for the nationwide Italian investigation into political corruption in the 1990s, in which Berlusconi was also implicated.
The press release says it is “an ironic commentary on a tragi-comic politician who exploits his rejuvenation in the media”.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss media see no change for Italy
This content was published on
They point out that the billionaire businessman, who easily defeated the centre-left led by Walter Veltroni, has already had two opportunities to reform Italy’s political system – opportunities that he failed to grasp. The Tribune de Genève called Berlusconi’s win a chance to avenge his defeat at the hands of Romano Prodi in 2006. It…
This content was published on
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which announced the ruling on Friday, said the judges in Lausanne had rejected appeals from Berlusconi’s lawyers against the Swiss decision to cooperate with the Italian investigation. At issue were documents concerning bank accounts frozen in Switzerland since October 2005 containing more than SFr150 million ($136.16 million). Other bank files have…
This content was published on
Around 100 officials at the Banca Fideuram have been placed under investigation, as well as nine of the bank’s clients, among them former Italian football star Franco Baresi. Dozens of financial advisers were allegedly involved in providing services through a Swiss subsidiary of the Banca Fideuram in order to avoid tax regulations. Italian investigators claim…
This content was published on
A broad mix of styles and techniques can be seen at the fair, billed as the world’s premier event for modern and contemporary art. It opened in Basel on June 16. (Pictures: Georgios Kefalas/Patrick Straub/Rolf Haid, Keystone/EPA)
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.