Italian-born French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has cut ties with her homeland by selling her family home for almost £8 million. It follows bitter comments she made in October saying she was no longer happy to be an Italian citizen. Yesterday was confirmed that the Castello di Castagneto Po, near Turin, had gone to an Arab sheik, following a London auction of its antiques and other fittings which raised another £10 million. Carla’s...

Rome Carla Bruni’s family castle in Italy has been sold to an Arab sheikh for €9 million (£8 million). Fittings from the 40-room Castello di Castagneto Po near Turin fetched €10 million at an earlier auction in London, La Stampa newspaper reported. The French First Lady’s father, the billionaire industrialist Alberto Bruni Tedeschi, bought the castle in 1952. The property was jointly owned by the wife of French President Nicolas...