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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has retreated to a health spa in central Italy, police sources said, after he cancelled an appearance at the UN General Assembly.
The prime minister's office was unavailable to comment on his whereabouts or state of health.
Italian media said the 71-year-old billionaire was being treated for minor back problems at the luxury health resort Messegue di Melezzole Toscolano in a converted castle near the town of Terni in Umbria, a hilly region north of Rome.
The spa declined to confirm or deny Berlusconi's presence.
Berlusconi had been due to spend the week in the United States, culminating in a speech to the United Nations on Saturday (NZT).
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who went to New York in his place, said Berlusconi had decided to remain in Italy due to crisis talks aimed at saving national airline Alitalia from collapse.
But those talks, in Rome, have been handled by Berlusconi's close aide Gianni Letta rather than the prime minister himself.
Frattini told reporters that he did not know whether Berlusconi was at a spa, but did say the Italian leader had been suffering from back pain.
"Last week, he was struck with very bad back pain. This, I can attest to," Frattini said.
While hair implants and a permanent tan keep Berlusconi, who turns 72 next week, looking younger than his years, he has had occasional bouts of ill health. In June he appeared unsteady on his feet after giving a speech to young entrepreneurs.
In December 2006 he flew to the United States for an operation to correct an irregular heartbeat. A month earlier he fainted while giving a speech.
One of Italy's richest people, Berlusconi made a fortune in property and media and his family business Fininvest owns Mediaset, Italy's main independent broadcaster.
