Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi suffered a broken nose and teeth as he left a public meeting in Milan Sunday, when an assailant threw a statuette at his face.

The 73-year-old leader was signing autographs as he was leaving a rally when the incident happened.

Video showed Berlusconi with his mouth and parts of his face bloodied. His entourage helped him up and put him in a waiting car. But he emerged again, possibly to show the crowd he was not seriously injured.

Paolo Klun, the chief spokesperson for Milan's San Raffaele Hospital, said Berlusconi incurred a "small fracture" of the nose, had two teeth broken and injured his lip.

The Italian leader was being held in the hospital overnight for observation "as a precaution," Klun added, because he suffered "significant bruising trauma from this blunt instrument that was hurled at him."

The incident happened after Berlusconi gave a long speech in front of thousands of supporters at a rally outside the cathedral, at about 6:30 p.m.

Police immediately took a 42-year-old man into custody. They identified him as Massimo Tartaglia and said he had no criminal record.

Initially police said an attacker, holding a small statue of Milan's cathedral, punched Berlusconi in the face. However, blurry video of the incident suggested the person let go of the statuette just before it struck the premier's face.

In hospital, Berlusconi was "very shaken and demoralized," Klun said. "He didn't understand very well what happened to him."

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano reacted to the statuette attack in a statement, describing it as a "grave and unusual gesture of aggression" against the premier. He added that differing perspectives on political matters should be articulated "within the limits of responsible self-control," while "preventing and heading off every impulse and spiral of violence."

The attack came at a difficult time for the premier. He has been hounded by scandals and on Dec. 5, tens of thousands of Italians marched through the Italian capital demanding his resignation.

Many of the demonstrators cited disappointment over Berlusconi's conflict of interests because of his business interests in media, real estate and sports. They argued that Berlusconi has passed laws to benefit his business empire.

Berlusconi contends the laws benefit all Italians.

Other protesters said they were upset by Berlusconi's sex scandals. The premier is facing divorce after wife his complained about his interest in young women. A high-end prostitute has also alleged that he paid for sex from her.

Berlusconi has denied any misconduct, saying opposition parties are behind his legal woes.

With files from The Associated Press