Miss Italia
Miss Italia is a beauty pageant awarding prizes every year to young, female contestants from Italy. Since the first edition of the contest, in 1939, many of the contestants have gone on to notable careers in television and film.
History
Early history and beginnings (1927-1935)
From 1927 to 1935, there were contests held in vein of the modern-day Miss Italia contest, with the winners often referred to as Miss Italy. This is mainly to choose Italy's representatives for both the International Pageant of Pulchritude and, later on, Miss Europe.| Year | Miss Italy | International Pageant |
| 1927 | Maria Gallo | 1927 International Pageant of Pulchritude |
| 1928 | Livia Marracci | 1928 International Pageant of Pulchritude |
| 1929 | Derna Giovannini | Miss Europe 1929 |
| 1930 | Mafalda Morittino | Miss Europe 1930 |
| 1931 | Claudia Bracetti | Miss Europe 1931 |
| 1932 | Rosetta Montali | Miss Europe 1932 |
| 1933 | Ivana Fusco | Miss Europe 1933 |
| 1934 | Tosca Giusti | Miss Europe 1934 and 1935 International Pageant of Pulchritude |
| 1935 | Vanna Panzarasa | Miss Europe 1935 |
Miss Sorriso (1939-1941)
The main forerunner of Miss Italia was Miss Sorriso, started in 1939 by Dino Villani and sponsored by a brand of toothpaste. Contestants were judged by their photographs rather than competing on a runway.Founding of the modern day contest (1946-present)
After a break during World War II, the contest resumed in 1946 and adopted the present-day name of Miss Italia. It was held in Stresa, which had managed to maintain its hotel infrastructure despite the war. The venue then changed several times before it was established that Salsomaggiore Terme would be the permanent, annual host of the pageant.Like contemporary Italian society itself, Miss Italia has gone through many changes over the years. In 1950, it was first broadcast on the radio. But since 1987, it has been broadcast live on television. As of 1990, the chest, waist, and hip measurements of the contestants are no longer judged, and in 1994, the contest was opened to married women and mothers. In 1996, Denny Méndez became the first Miss Italia woman of colour.
Among the participants finding later success in cinema and the entertainment industry at large include: Caterina Balivo, Silvana Pampanini, Sophia Loren, Marcella Mariani, Lucia Bosè, Stefania Sandrelli, Mirca Viola, Simona Ventura, Patrizia Deitos, Anna Falchi and Martina Colombari.
From 1959 to 1988 the sole organizer of Miss Italia had been Enzo Mirigliani, to whose work the contest owes much of its current success. The jury groups that elect Miss Italia have included celebrities such as Totò, Giorgio de Chirico, Giovannino Guareschi, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Alberto Lattuada, Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Lina Wertmüller, Dino Risi, Alberto Sordi, and Claudia Cardinale.
In 1989, Mirigliani and his daughter Patrizia Mirigliani started to organize the contest together until Enzo Mirigliani stepped down in May 2010 and died in 2011. After that Patrizia Mirigliani became the sole organizer of the contest.
Besides the title of "Miss Italia", during the pageant other consolation prizes are also awarded, including "Miss Elegance" and "Miss Cinema". In 1991 a separate pageant was instituted, called "Miss Italia nel Mondo", a competition for Italian women living abroad.
Miss Italia will no longer be held in Salsomaggiore Terme, for economic reasons. This was announced in April 2011, and a long list of cities have expressed interest in hosting the pageant. Cities include Sanremo, Rome, Fiuggi, Taormina, and many more. It was officially announced that Miss Italia 2011 will be held in Montecatini Terme. Milly Carlucci will not return as host of the pageant. Fabrizio Frizzi has replaced her for Miss Italia 2011. The pageant will only take place over two nights, rather than three. This year, the beauty pageant contest, back in a national broadcast television. The contest will be produced by Infront and RAI, The host will be Alessandro Greco. A program by Casimiro Lieto, Luca Parenti, and Alessandro Migliaccio. Directed by Francesco Ebner.
In 2021, for the first time in the history of the pageant, the final was held in Venice.
The new format, created by Giorgio John Squarcia, removed sashes and numbers from the final, introduced three different types of "talent show"-style challenges, included contestants as unaware protagonists of social experiments filmed with hidden cameras, and, for the first time in history, allowed eliminated finalists to serve on the jury.
The final was originally scheduled for 19 December 2021, but due to two contestants testing positive for COVID-19, the decision to postpone the event to the following February was announced on 15 December.
The winner of this edition was Neapolitan contestant Zeudi Di Palma.
In July 2023, in response to Miss Nederland being won by an openly transgender woman, Miss Italia instituted a blanket ban on trans women from competing. As a response, several trans men applied to enter the contest.
Miss Italia Crown Revolution
The 2021 final night was preceded by Miss Italia - Crown Revolution, a five-episode miniseries filmed in docu-reality style, created by Giorgio John Squarcia and hosted by Alessandro Di Sarno. Set in Venice, the series focused on introducing the finalists and showcasing some of the challenges they had to face, guided by judge-coaches.Directorship and Organizer History
- Dino Villani
- Enzo Mirigliani
- Enzo Mirigliani and Patrizia Mirigliani
- Patrizia Mirigliani
Regional rankings
The winners of Miss Italia
Hosts
- Corrado Mantoni: 1946–56
- Nunzio Filogamo: 1952
- Enzo Mirigliani: 1959, 1961–78
- Renato Tagliani: 1960
- Mike Bongiorno: 1970, 1975, 2007
- Daniele Piombi: 1974
- Gabriella Farinon: 1974
- Pippo Baudo: 1976
- Alberto Lupo: 1977
- Vanna Brosio: 1979
- Andrea Giordana: 1980–1981, 1984, 1987
- Memo Remigi: 1982
- Ettore Andenna: 1983
- Michele Gammino: 1983
- Milly Carlucci: 1983, 2009, 2010
- Marco Columbro: 1986
- Fabrizio Frizzi: 1988–2002, 2011, 2012
- Carlo Conti: 2003–06, 2008
- Loretta Goggi: 2007
- Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice: 2010
- Massimo Ghini: 2013
- Cesare Bocci: 2013
- Francesca Chillemi: 2013
- Simona Ventura: 2014–2015
- Francesco Facchinetti: 2016–18
- Diletta Leotta: 2018
- Alessandro Greco: 2019-2020
- Alessandro Di Sarno: 2021
- Elettra Lamborghini: 2021
- Carolina Stramare: 2021
- Salvo Sottile: 2022
- Jo Squillo: 2023
- Andrea Dianetti: 2024