Miss Italia is a

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

awarding prizes every year to young, female contestants from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. 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 The International Pageant of Pulchritude, also known as Miss Universe or the International Beauty Contest, was a beauty contest that began in 1920, featuring contestants from multiple nations. This pageant originated the title "Miss Universe" an ...

(also known as "Miss Universe") and later on,

Miss Europe Miss Europe is a beauty pageant for women from all over Europe. It was established in February 1927 by , the European distributor of Paramount, as a one-off event where the winner was to star in a film directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. A ...

Miss Sorriso (1939-1941)

The main forerunner of Miss Italia was '' Miss Sorriso'' (Miss Smile), 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the contest resumed in 1946 and adopted the present-day name of Miss Italia. It was held in

Stresa Stresa is a ''comune'' (municipality) of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the Italian region of Piedmont. about northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Sim ...

, which had managed to maintain its hotel infrastructure despite the war. The venue then changed several times before it was established that

Salsomaggiore Terme Salsomaggiore Terme (Parmigiano dialect, Salsese: ; Parmigiano dialect, Parmigiano: ) is a town and ''comune'' located in the Italy, Italian province of Parma, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Located at the foot of the Apennine Mountains, Apennine ...

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 (the 1987 winner had been disqualified when it was later discovered she was married). In 1996,

Denny Méndez Denny Andreína Méndez de la Rosa (born 20 July 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican-Italian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who represented Italy at Miss Universe 1997 and placed in the Top 6. Early life A na ...

became the first Miss Italia woman of colour. File:Sophia Loren (third from left) in publicity images from the Miss Italia contest, 1950.jpg File:Naples, Miss Italia 1950 - Sophia Loren.jpg File:A young Sophia Loren, aged 15, at a beauty contest in Naples, Italy.jpg File:Missitalia1971.4.jpg Among the participants finding later success in cinema and the entertainment industry at large (although many of them have not won the crown of Miss Italia itself) include:

Silvana Pampanini Silvana Pampanini (25 September 1925 – 6 January 2016) was an Italian film actress, director and singer. She was also the niece of the soprano of the golden era of opera, Dame Rosetta Pampanini. Silvana Pampanini caused a sensation when she t ...

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

, Marcella Mariani,

Lucia Bosè Lucia Bosè (28 January 1931 – 23 March 2020) was an Italian actress. Life and career Lucia Bosè was born in Milan to Francesca Borloni and Domenico Bosè. After a number of years working in a bakery, Pasticceria Galli, in her native city, ...

Stefania Sandrelli Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the "Italian-style comedy" (''commedia all'italiana''), starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in ''Divorce Italian Style'' as Ang ...

, Mirca Viola,

Simona Ventura Simona Ventura (born 1 April 1965) is an Italian television presenter and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Italia 1988 and represented her country at Miss Universe 1988. She is the third woman to have presented the Sanremo Music Festiv ...

Patrizia Deitos Patrizia Deitos (born 11 May 1975 in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy) is an Italian Model (profession), model. Career Patrizia Deitos is a former supermodel from Rimini, Italy, who has walked on some of the most renowned international catwalks. H ...

Anna Falchi Anna Falchi (; born Anna Kristiina Palomäki; 22 April 1972) is a Finnish-Italian actress, television presenter, and former model. Early life Anna Kristiina Palomäki was born in Tampere, Finland, the daughter of an Italian father, Benito (T ...

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 Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il principe della risat ...

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...

Giovannino Guareschi Giovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi (; 1 May 1908 – 22 July 1968) was an Italian journalist, cartoonist, and humorist whose best known creation is the priest Don Camillo and Peppone, Don Camillo. Life and career Guareschi was born into a ...

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the fil ...

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

Alberto Lattuada Mario Alberto Lattuada (; 13 November 1914 – 3 July 2005) was an Italian film director. Career Lattuada was born in Vaprio d'Adda, the son of composer Felice Lattuada. He was initially interested in literature, becoming, while still a studen ...

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

Ugo Tognazzi Ottavio "Ugo" Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the most important faces of Italian comedy together with Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi, Marcello Mastr ...

Lina Wertmüller Arcangela Felice Assunta "Lina" Wertmüller (; 14 August 1928 – 9 December 2021) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her 1970s art film, art house films ''Seven Beauties'',' ''The Seduction of Mimi'', ''Lov ...

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy, and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an ...

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian, voice dubber, director, singer, composer and screenwriter. Sordi is considered one of the most important actors in the history of Italian cinema and one of the b ...

, and

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938), known as Claudia Cardinale (), is an Italian actress. Born and raised in La Goulette, a neighbourhood of Tunis, Cardinale won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" competition ...

. 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 (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

, 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 Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, 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 The Miss Nederland is a national beauty pageant in the Netherlands. The pageant was founded in 1929 in Amsterdam. History Former pageant From 1929 to 1931, the Netherlands held a national pageant in Amsterdam for the first time called "Miss ...

being won by an openly transgender woman ( Rikkie Kollé), Miss Italia instituted a blanket ban on trans women from competing. As a response, several

trans men A trans man or transgender man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Trans men have a male gender identity, and many trans men undergo Gender transition, medical and social transition to alter their appearance in a way that aligns with th ...

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 Factual television is a genre of non-fiction television programming that documents actual events and people. These types of programs are also described as observational documentary, fly on the wall, docudrama, and reality television. The genre h ...

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 (1939-1959) * Enzo Mirigliani (1959-1988) *Enzo Mirigliani and Patrizia Mirigliani (1989-2009) *Patrizia Mirigliani (2010-present)

Regional rankings

The winners of Miss Italia

Hosts

* Corrado Mantoni: 1946–56 *

Nunzio Filogamo Nunzio Filogamo (; 20 September 1902 – 24 January 2002) was an Italian television and radio presenter, actor and singer. Life and career Born in Palermo, Filogamo moved to Turin at a young age, then he studied law at the Sorbonne Universit ...

: 1952 * Enzo Mirigliani: 1959, 1961–78 * Renato Tagliani: 1960 *

Mike Bongiorno Michael Nicholas Salvatore Bongiorno (; May 26, 1924 – September 8, 2009) was an American Italian television presenter. After a few experiences in the U.S., he started working on RAI in the 1950s and was considered to be the most popular host ...

: 1970, 1975, 2007 * Daniele Piombi: 1974 * Gabriella Farinon: 1974 *

Pippo Baudo Giuseppe Vittorio Raimondo "Pippo" Baudo (born 7 June 1936) is one of the most famous Italian television presenters, with a career spanning six decades. He is often nicknamed "Superpippo" (referencing the Italian name of Super Goof). Baudo ha ...

: 1976 *

Alberto Lupo Alberto Zoboli (19 December 1924 – 13 August 1984), known professionally as Alberto Lupo, was an Italian film and television actor best known for his roles in swash-buckling and actions films of the 1960s. Lupo starred in films such as ''A ...

: 1977 *

Vanna Brosio Vanna Brosio (18 April 1943 – 19 June 2010) was an Italian singer, television personality and journalist. Life and career Born Giovanna Brosio in Turin, the daughter of a well-known antiquarian and the niece of the former NATO Secretary Gen ...

: 1979 *

Andrea Giordana Andrea Giordana (born 27 March 1946) is an Italian actor. He has appeared in more than 14 films, 29 television and 35 theater shows since the mostly late 1950s. Early life He was born in Rome, Italy to film director Claudio Gora and actress ...

: 1980–1981, 1984, 1987 *

Memo Remigi Emidio "Memo" Remigi (born 27 May 1938) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and television personality. Life and career Born in Erba, Como, during his studies Remigi played piano in various groups. He debuted as a singer in 1963 winning the Li ...

: 1982 * Ettore Andenna: 1983 *

Michele Gammino Michele Gammino (born 16 June 1941) is an Italian actor, voice actor and television presenter. Biography Born in Rome to parents who originated from Palermo, Gammino began his career during the early 1970s. For his work on Italian television, ...

: 1983 *

Milly Carlucci Camilla Patrizia "Milly" Carlucci (born 1 October 1954) is an Italian television presenter, actress and singer. Carlucci played the role of Urania in the 1985 film ''The Adventures of Hercules''. In 1996 she became a Goodwill ambassador for UNI ...

: 1983, 2009, 2010 *

Marco Columbro Marco Columbro (born 28 June 1950) is an Italian actor and television host. Biography Marco Columbro was born in Viareggio, Tuscany. He had a Roman Catholic background but later became a "spiritual researcher" with no religious affiliation, a ...

: 1986 *

Fabrizio Frizzi Fabrizio Adriano Frizzi (; 5 February 1958 – 26 March 2018) was an Italian television presenter and voice actor. He often presented a mixture of variety shows, talent shows and game shows across Italy and he was also known as the Italian voice ...

: 1988–2002, 2011, 2012 *

Carlo Conti Carlo Natale Marino Conti (born 13 March 1961), simply known as Carlo Conti, is an Italian television presenter. Life and career Born in Florence, Conti graduated in accountancy, then he was a bank teller from 1981 to 1986.. After some exper ...

: 2003–06, 2008 *

Loretta Goggi Loretta Goggi (; born 29 September 1950) is an Italian singer, actress, and television presenter. Goggi's records have sometimes entered the Italian pop charts. She was the first runner-up at the 1981 Sanremo Festival with the song " Maledetta ...

: 2007 *

Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice Emanuele Filiberto Umberto Reza Ciro René Maria di Savoia (born 22 June 1972)''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Haus Italien". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, pp. 33, 38–39. .Willis, Daniel, ''The Descendants of Loui ...

: 2010 * Massimo Ghini: 2013 *

Cesare Bocci Cesare Adolfo Bocci (born 13 September 1957) is an Italian actor. Born in Camerino, he has acted in films and on stage, but is best known for his performance as Mimi Augello to Luca Zingaretti's Salvo Montalbano in the television series ''Insp ...

: 2013 * Francesca Chillemi: 2013 *

: 2014–2015 * Francesco Facchinetti: 2016–18 *

Diletta Leotta Giulia Diletta Leotta (; born 16 August 1991) is an Italian television presenter from Catania, Sicily. Career Leotta briefly worked for Sky Meteo24 as a meteorologist at the beginning of her career. She currently presents the Serie A broadcast ...

: 2018 * Alessandro Greco: 2019-2020 * Alessandro Di Sarno: 2021 *

Elettra Lamborghini Elettra Miura Lamborghini (; born 17 May 1994) is an Italian television personality, singer and socialite. A granddaughter of Ferruccio Lamborghini, the founder of Lamborghini, she began her career in reality television at age 22. She ventured i ...

: 2021 * Carolina Stramare: 2021 * Salvo Sottile: 2022 * Jo Squillo: 2023 * Andrea Dianetti: 2024

Notes

External links

{{Authority control

Beauty pageants in Italy Recurring events established in 1939 Italian awards Salsomaggiore Terme