(15 Dec 2009)
++EVENING SHOTS++
1. Wide exterior of San Raffaele hospital where Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi remains hospitalised
2. Mid of security outside the hospital
3. Pull in to hospital car park, black BMW driving out of hospital grounds, pull into vehicle carrying Marina Berlusconi, eldest daughter of Italian premier
4. Mid of media outside hospital
STORYLINE:
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter visited her father in hospital on Tuesday, following news that the 73-year-old must remain there for at least another day following an attack at the weekend.
39-year-old Marina Berlusconi, the premier's eldest daughter from his first marriage and a top official in his media empire, was seen leaving Milan's San Raffaele hospital where her father has resided since Sunday's attack.
Berlusconi was struck in the face as he signed autographs at a political rally in Milan.
His attacker, Massimo Tartaglia, hurled a statuette of Milan's Duomo cathedral at the premier, breaking Berlusconi's nose and two teeth and cutting his lips.
Tartaglia, a 42-year-old with a history of psychological problems, has since apologised to the Italian leader for his "superficial, cowardly and uncontrolled" actions, written in a letter to Berlusconi through his lawyers.
He is being questioned in jail as a judge considers whether he should be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
Medical officials have said Berlusconi must remain hospitalised until at least Wednesday and probably should cancel all public activities throughout the Christmas season.
The attack, which shocked Italians, came amid an increasingly tense political atmosphere.
For months, Berlusconi has denounced what he calls a "climate of hatred" surrounding him as he fends off a sex scandal and legal troubles.
Marina Berlusconi had recently come to her father's defence, saying he had been "stabbed in the back" by months of "slanderous" newspaper revelations about his sex life.
In October, the prime minister's eldest child was appointed chairwoman of the holding company for Berlusconi's business interests, Fininvest SpA.
She had previously been deputy chairwoman at Fininvest, and is a key figure in some of the largest companies in which the holding company has majority stakes, which form the core of her father's media empire.
She is chairwoman of Italy's largest publisher, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore SpA, and is on the board of Mediaset SpA - Italy's largest private broadcaster - and of asset manager Mediolanum SpA, all companies controlled by Fininvest.
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