First photographs of Silvio Berlusconi's opulent 'James Bond-style' hideaway (photos)

With its glistening underwater cave and huge pool, it looks like something out of a James Bond film. Or perhaps it is the Playboy mansion's infamous grotto.
In fact, it's former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's garish underwater chamber - a secret grotto in Sardinia that apparently leads right out to the sea.
His flamboyant retreat - which has a mosaic of Poseidon, the god of the sea, holding a trident tiled on the floor.
Guests can enter the billionaire's luxurious retreat by sailing from the sea through a gated entrance into the semi-submerged cave and ascend some stairs to his villa.
They complained that the alterations were implemented without proper planning permission, the Guardian reported.
But this is the first time the inside of the 75-year-old's glitzy cave has been seen.
Many high-profile visitor have been hosted at the gaudy estate including former UK prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Telegraph reported that Berlusconi explained was advised to make the changes by the secret services after receiving threats to his life at the time.
Yet the underwater hideaway is not the only flamboyant feature of 150-acre Villa Certosa.
The magnate once had an artificial volcano built on the estate for one of his parties.

{gallery}berlusconi{/gallery}