Berlusconi leaves hospital, 4 days after attack

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged to work with "more force and more determination" after leaving hospital on Thursday, four days after an attack which left him with a broken nose and teeth.

Television images showed a stony-faced Berlusconi, his nose and left cheek bandaged, waving to reporters from a limousine as his motorcade left the Milan hospital where he was taken after Sunday's attack.

The conservative premier, attacked at a rally on Sunday by a man with a history of mental illness, was driven to his mansion in the Milanese suburb of Arcore. Doctors have ordered the 73-year-old to limit his work schedule for up to two weeks.

"Two things will remain as memories of these days: the hatred of a few and the love of many, so many Italians," Berlusconi said in a written statement.

"We will press ahead on the road to reforms that Italians are asking for. We owe that much to our people, to our democracy, where neither the violence of stones nor the greater violence of words will triumph."

Images of the media tycoon's bloodied face shocked Italy on Sunday after 42-year-old Massimo Tartaglia hurled a miniature replica of Milan cathedral at the prime minister as he was shaking hands and signing autographs.

Tartaglia is in prison awaiting charges.

Politicians from both sides of the spectrum have blamed tensions in recent months for the attack and traded accusations of hate-mongering. Some warned of the risk of a return to the violence which scarred Italy in the 1970s and 1980s.

The discovery of a half-exploded letter bomb in Milan's Bocconi university on Wednesday, claimed by a little-known anarchist group, fueled security concerns.

"If what has happened leads to a greater awareness of the need for a more peaceful and honest language in Italian politics, then this pain will not have been in vain," said Berlusconi, in an unusual call for dialogue.

Berlusconi, a popular but divisive figure, appeared to reach out to the new leader of the opposition Democratic Party Pier Luigi Bersani, who visited him this week in hospital, saying he "felt closer to some political leaders of the opposition."

However, other opposition politicians have urged Berlusconi and his allies not to exploit the attack for political gain.

A poll on RAI state TV suggested his popularity, which has flagged after a series of sex scandals and judicial setbacks in recent months, had received a sympathy boost.

Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported that Berlusconi was due to undergo cosmetic surgery in the coming days at the exclusive Ars Medica clinic in the Italian-speaking region of Ticino. A government spokesman declined to comment.

The incident has renewed calls from government benches for tighter security measures.

These could include legislation against disturbances at political demonstrations and stricter regulation of Internet pages, such as social networking site Facebook, where anti-Berlusconi messages and fan groups have flourished.

(Additional reporting by Daniel Flynn and Antonella Cinelli in Rome; writing by Daniel Flynn)