Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been rushed to hospital, according to reports.
The 82-year-old media tycoon was taken to Milan's San Raffaele hospital in an ambulance on Tuesday after complaining of kidney pain.
Local media reported that he was treated for renal colic but still plans to attend a political rally later today.
"As soon as checks currently been carried out are over, he has promised to be present at the Forza Italia event scheduled for this afternoon with the European election candidates," a spokeswoman said.
Inside Bunga Bunga parties that brought down a PM and now linked to model's death
Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and ousted from public office in 2013 and has kept a relatively low profile since.
He has spearheaded the populist Forza Italia party in recent years and participated in national and local elections.
The billionaire, who once owned AC Milan, was last in office as Italian Prime Minister from 2008 until 2011 but was beset by legal problems.
He was involved in a much-publicised trial for soliciting sex of an underage prostitute know as 'Ruby the Heartstealer' in 2012.
Secretive 'bunga bunga' sessions first came to light in October 2010, when Berlusconi personally phoned a police station asking for the release of a 17-year-old , Karima el-Mahroug, who had been accused of stealing a 3,000-euro bracelet.
He was eventually found not guilty but the incident proved a scandal too many for the country's electorate.
