London, Mar 19 : An auction of murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace''s possessions has raised over 7 million pounds.

Items from his Villa Fontanelle home—including huge classical statues of naked wrestlers, furniture and paintings—went under the hammer on March 18.

A spokeswoman for Sotheby''s in New Bond Street, central London, where the auction was held, said that the pre-sale estimate was only 2.8 million pounds.

But many of the items went on to fetch over 10 times their expected price.

London  - An auction of late Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's private belongings beat all expectations as sculptures, chandeliers, paintings and furniture were bought for a total of 7.4 million pounds (10.39 million dollars), auction house Sotheby's said.

The 12-hour sale, which ended late Wednesday, continued a trend set by the auction last month in Paris of the private possessions of late French designer Yves Saint Laurent and showed that investment in art was regarded as a "safe alternative" by wealthy buyers in the current recession, analysts said.

London - Glittering momentoes from the luxury villa of former Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace were snapped up by celebrity-loving auction-goers in London Wednesday.

Frenetic bidding for items from Versace's opulently-furnished villa meant that results in the first few hours surpassed all expectations, reaching more than 1.7 million pounds
(2.4 million dollars) against a total estimate of 2 million pounds.