Those of you who follow us regularly will know that we, at Eurovision Ireland, have been looking at the highs and lows of each country in the years they have taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest. Today, we are focusing on one of the more successful countries of late; Italy .

Participation History

Italy were one of the countries who took part in the first ever Eurovision in 1956. Their San Remo Festival, which still continues today, was the inspiration behind the origins of the contest we know and love today. Italy have had several occasions where they have not taken part in the contest ; 1981 and 1982, returning in 1983. They again withdrew in 1986 and then again from 1994-1996. They returned again in 1997 before withdrawing again , this time staying out for a much longer period and did not return until 2011. They have up to this year participated in every contest since then, as part of the Big 5 countries.

Italy’s Highs at Eurovision

Italy have won the contest three times. . Their first victory came in Copenhagen in 1964, when a very young Gigliola Cinquetti sang the gentle song “Non ho l’età”.

Italy had to wait another 26 years for their second victory which came at the 1990 contest in Zagreb, Croatia ( then Yugoslavia) when Toto Cotugno sang ” Insieme 1992″ .

Italy then had to wait another 31 years for their next and most recent victory when in 2021 , at a time when the world was still in the grip of a pandemic, Måneskin sang the nation to victory in Rotterdam , with their rock song “Zitti E buoni”.

Italy have also come second on three occasions. In 1974 , Gigliola Cinquetti , representing her country for the second time, couldn’t quite hit the top spot again, being beaten by Abba from Sweden . However, she finished in the very respectable runners up spot with her gentle ballad “Si”. The song remains a popular feature of Eurovision history today .

Italy next achieved the runners up spot on their return to the contest after a long absence in 2011. Raphael Gualazzi sang “Madness of Love ” in Dusseldorf , Germany.

Italy again came second in 2019 , when Mahmood sang the very catchy “Soldi” in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Italy have also achieved five third places. The first and perhaps the most well regarded and the one that always sticks in our memories when we think of Eurovision is the third place achieved in 1958 by Domenico Modugno “Nel blu dipinto di blu “, best known to us all as “Volare”

Italy again hot the third spot in 1963 with Emilio Pericolli singing “Uno per Tutte”.

It was 1975 when Italy again took 3rd place when Wess and Dori Ghezzi sang “Era” in Stockholm, Sweden.

Italy didn’t have to wait too long for their next third place . In 1987 ,in Brussels, Umberto Tozzi and Raf sang ” Gente di Mare .”

Italy then had a longer wait for their next third place which came following their most recent return to the contest.In 2015. Il Volo came to the contest in Vienna as strong favourites to win . Unfortunately, they were beaten into third place by Sweden and Måns Zelmerlow with his song “Heroes”.

Italy have also achieved a few 4th places . The first and perhaps the greatest in the eyes of many fans was achieved in 1992, in Malmø, Sweden, when the popular Mia Martini represented the nation with “Rapsodia”.

In 1997 Jalisse brought the nation to 4th place in Dublin , with “Fiumi di Parole”.

Italy’s latest 4th place happened very recently , in fact at this year’s contest in Liverpool , when Marco Mengoni sang “Due vite” .

Italy’s Lows at Eurovision

Italy have undoubtedly been one of the most successful countries at Eurovision and it’s hard to find low points for them. However there have been some . They achieved last place in 1966, when none other than Domenico Modugno represented his country for the third time with the song “Dio , come ti amo”.

In 1979 , Matia Bazar performed “Raggio di Luna” in Jerusalem,Israel .Despite them being a popular band in Italy at the time and despite them being the only act not to sing with an orchestra , the international juries put them in 15th place with 27 points .

In 1988, in Dublin, Luca Barbarossa sang “Vivo ( Ti Scrivo)”. He was entered into the contest despite finishing 3rd in San Remo that year. Italy got their lowest placing of the 1980’s finishing 12th with 52 points .

In 2014, Italy achieved their worst result at Eurovision to date .Emma Marrone was chosen by the Italian broadcaster RAI to represent the nation at the contest in Copenhagen with her song “La Mia citta”. That year there was no connection to San Remo as in previous years , although Emma won the 2012 edition. Despite a lively performance , the voters of Europe clearly weren’t impressed and Emma finished in 21st place with only 33 points .

In 2016. Francesca Michielin arrived in Stockholm as one the acts tipped to do well, with her song “No Degree of Separation”.Despite the mixture of Italian and English and very colourful staging , she only achieved 16th place.

So there you have it , our look back at the highs and lows of Italy at Eurovision . Are any of your favourites there? Are there any you think we should have included ? Let us know what you think of Italy at Eurovision by leaving us a comment in our comments box and you can also find us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER .

Author : Sarah Rudman

Source: Eurovision.TV, Eurovision Gold, Eurovision Ireland