Dio, come ti amo


is a song recorded by both Italian singers Domenico Modugno and Gigliola Cinquetti, composed and written by Modugno himself. The song won the Sanremo Music Festival 1966 and – performed by Modugno – in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, held in Luxembourg.

Background

Conception

The song was composed by Domenico Modugno. It is a ballad, in which the singer tells his/her lover how he feels about her/him. The singer expresses his/her amazement at the depth of his/her own feelings, with the title phrase being used frequently.

Sanremo

On 27–29 January 1966, "Dio, come ti amo" competed in the 16th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival performed by both Modugno and Gigliola Cinquetti, and winning the competition. As the festival was used by Radiotelevisione italiana to select its song and performer for the of the Eurovision Song Contest, the song became the for the contest. An experts jury appointed Modugno as the performer for Eurovision.
Modugno released then the song also in English, German, and in two Spanish versions.

Eurovision

On 5 March 1966, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at Villa Louvigny in Luxembourg hosted by the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion, and broadcast live throughout the continent. Modugno performed "i=no" fourteenth on the evening, following 's "i=no" by Téréza and preceding 's "i=no" by Dominique Walter.
The song had been rearranged since its performance at Sanremo. During rehearsals, mere hours before the live contest, Modugno performed the new arrangement with three of his own musicians as opposed to the orchestra, which went over the three minute time limit. This broke the European Broadcasting Union rules stating that the arrangement should be communicated well in advance and should not be over three minutes. Following his rehearsal, Modugno was confronted by the show's producers about exceeding the time limit and was asked to use the original arrangement with the orchestra. Modugno was so dissatisfied with the orchestra that he threatened to withdraw from the contest. Both the producers and EBU scrutineer Clifford Brown felt it was too short notice to fly Cinquetti to Luxembourg to perform the song, so the EBU gave in and allowed Modugno to use his own ensemble instead of the orchestra. Despite news reports and the official programme listing as the conductor, Giacomazzi actually played the piano for the entry.
At the close of voting, the song had received nul points, for the first and also the only time in Italian Eurovision history, placing seventeenth in a field of eighteen. It was succeeded as Italian representative at the by "i=no" by Claudio Villa.

Aftermath

Cinquetti starred in a musicarello film titled released in 1966, accompanied by Mark Damon, Raimondo Vianello, and Nino Taranto.

Other versions