Miss Italia

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

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, 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 (the 1987 winner had been disqualified when it was later discovered she was married). In 1996, Denny Méndez 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: 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 (Rikkie Kollé), 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 (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: 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

Notes

References

1. Loren, Sophia. (2014). "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow". Altria Books.
2. (2003). "Le attrici: dal 1930 ai giorni nostri". Gremese.
3. Keane. (8 May 2011). "The Miss Italia beauty pageant comes to Barga".
4. "Miss Italia".
5. (12 August 2019). "Alessandro Greco a Blogo: 'Non si può dire di no a Miss Italia. Ecco cosa cambierò rispetto al passato'".
6. (6 December 2021). "Miss Italia in Venice, in the name of beauty". [[Rai News]].
7. (6 December 2021). "Addio a costumi da bagno, fasce e "numerini": Così cambia Miss Italia".
8. (15 December 2021). "Miss Italia, final postponed due to Covid". [[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata.
9. (14 February 2022). "Zeudi Di Palma crowned Miss Italia: "I'm from Scampia: Gomorrah gives a distorted idea, many young people here want to break free"". [[Corriere della Sera]].
10. (21 July 2023). "Miss Italy pageant bars transgender contestants, rejects 'glittery bandwagon of trans activism'".
11. (21 July 2023). "Miss Italy Won't Allow Transgender Competitors: Must Be Woman 'From Birth'".
12. (25 July 2023). "Over 100 trans men enter Miss Italy pageant after organiser says only "women from birth" allowed".
13. (9 December 2021). "Miss Italia 2021, cambia tutto: Addio tv, il concorso diventa un reality sui social".
14. (6 December 2021). "Miss Italia, 2021 final becomes a streaming TV miniseries". [[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata.
15. Rocco was chosen as winner following the disqualification of the previously declared winner, [[Mirca Viola]] of [[Forlì]]. Viola was discovered to be married, and a mother, and the initial results of the pageant were overruled.