Berlusconi leaves hospital after attack

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi left hospital on Thursday, four days after suffering severe facial wounds in a violent weekend attack.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi left hospital on Thursday, four days after suffering severe facial wounds in a violent weekend attack.

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The 73-year-old leader, with a small bandage on his nose and a large compress on his left cheek, was seen leaving
the hospital in a black sedan, waving to reporters through the rear window.

Dozens of journalists and onlookers were crowded at the hospital gates as the motorcade passed slowly out of the
facility, with headlights on but with no sirens wailing.

Berlusconi's assailant hit him in the face by a souvenir model of Milan cathedral.

Italian media said the billionaire prime minister would head to his villa in nearby Arcore to convalesce for another two weeks.

A banner reading "Welcome Home" was seen at the entrance to the villa, the ANSA news agency reported, adding
that security forces were keeping journalists at a distance of a few hundred metres.

Doctors initially expected Berlusconi's hospitalisation to last 24 to 36 hours, but his stay was
extended because of persistent pain and difficulties eating.

Old neck pains that resurfaced after the attack caused Berlusconi severe headaches, they said.