On 2 December 2010, the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

(EBU) announced that

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

would compete in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

, set to be held in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Italy returned to the contest after a 13-year absence, having last competed in the 1997 contest. The entry was organised by Italian broadcaster

Radiotelevisione Italiana RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...

(RAI) and finished second after the winning song from Azerbaijan.

Background

Italy was one of the seven participating countries to take part in the first contest in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

. The Eurovision Song Contest was initially inspired by the Italian

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

, held annually since 1951 in the city of

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

. Since their debut Italy has taken part 37 times, and has won the contest twice - in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

with the song "

Non ho l'età "Non ho l'età (per amarti)" (Italian for "I'm not old enough (to love you)"), usually given as just "Non ho l'età" (), was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1964, held in Copenhagen. It was performed in Italian by Gigliola Cinquet ...

" (I'm not old enough) performed by

Gigliola Cinquetti Gigliola Cinquetti (; born Giliola Cinquetti on 20 December 1947) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and television presenter. Life and career Gigliola Cinquetti was born into a wealthy family in Verona. From the ages of 9 to 13, she studied and ...

, and in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

with " Insieme: 1992" (Together: 1992) performed by

Toto Cutugno Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; born 7 July 1943) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for his worldwide hit song, "L'Italiano", released on his 1983 album of the same title. Cutugno also won the Eurovision Song Conte ...

. Italy has also come 2nd once - again with

and the song " Sì", and 3rd four times - including the global hit song " Nel blu, dipinto di blu", also known as "Volare", performed by

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. Italy has also hosted the contest twice - in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, and in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Since their debut Italy has withdrawn from the contest a number of times. The first occurrence was in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, claiming that interest in the contest in Italy had diminished. Italy returned in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, and withdrew again in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, returning the following year. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Italy withdrew again, before returning again in 1997. After the 1997 contest Italy withdrew again, and did not return until the 2011 contest.

Return to Eurovision

Since their withdrawal in 1997 the EBU, the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest, had worked hard to bring Italy back to Eurovision. Since the 2009 Contest the country's return - along with that of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

- was made a priority of the EBU. In September 2010 it was announced by Massimo Liofredi, chairman of

Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, talk ...

, that the winner of the fourth series of the Italian version of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' may represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, rather than compete in the Sanremo Music Festival as in previous years. This raised hopes that Italy would return to Eurovision after 14 years of absence. On 2 December 2010 the EBU announced on the official Eurovision website that Italy had applied for the 2011 Contest, set to be held on 10, 12 and 14 May 2011 in

Before Eurovision

Artist selection

On 1 February 2011, Italian broadcaster RAI confirmed that the performer that would represent Italy at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest would be selected by a special committee from the competing artists at the

Sanremo Music Festival 2011 The Sanremo Music Festival 2011 was the 61st annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, province of Imperia, during the five nights between 15 February 2011 and 19 February 2011. The artistic director of the show was Gia ...

. The committee consisted of

Gianni Morandi Gianni Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. Early life Gian Luigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the I ...

, Mauro Mazza (

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

director), Massimo Liofredi (

director), Marco Simeon (director of international affairs), Maurizio Zoccarato (mayor of

) and Giorgio Giuffra (

's promotional board member). The competition took place between 15–19 February 2011 with the winner being selected on the last day of the festival. The competing artists in the "Big Artists" and "Newcomers" category were:

"Big Artists" Category

Al Bano Albano Antonio Carrisi (; born 20 May 1943), better known as Al Bano, is an Italian tenor, actor, and winemaker. He is one of the most recognisable Italian singers in the world whose career spans 7 decades. He has gained notability due to his vo ...

Anna Oxa Anna Hoxha (; born 28 April 1961), known professionally as Anna Oxa (), is an Italian singer, actress, and television presenter. Oxa has received mainstream popularity and recognition within Italy due to her numerous participations in the Sanremo ...

Anna Tatangelo Anna Tatangelo (born 9 January 1987) is an Italian pop singer and television personality. At the age of 15, she became the youngest person to win the Newcomer's Award at the prestigious Sanremo Music Festival singing contest. Her repertoire con ...

* Davide Van De Sfroos *

Giusy Ferreri Giusy Ferreri (; born Giuseppa Gaetana Ferreri on 17 April 1979) is an Italian singer and songwriter. In 2008, she took part at the first Italian edition of the talent show X Factor, coming in second place. She topped the Italian Singles Chart ...

* La Crus *

Luca Barbarossa Luca Barbarossa (born 15 April 1961, Rome) is an Italian singer-songwriter who has released 12 albums since 1981, and is known for his participation in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Early career In 1980, Barbarossa won the Castrocaro Music ...

and

Raquel del Rosario Raquel del Rosario Macías (; born 3 November 1982) is a Spanish singer. She was the lead vocalist of the band (''Morpheus' Dream''). Biography Raquel is the second of six children. At the age of 14, she started writing the first of many so ...

Luca Madonia Luca Madonia (born 4 June 1957) is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. Life and career Born in Catania, he started his career as a member of the new wave band Denovo. After the group disbanded, he debuted as a solo singer-songwriter, ...

and

Franco Battiato Francesco "Franco" Battiato (; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes, a ...

Max Pezzali Massimo Pezzali (born 14 November 1967 in Pavia), commonly known as Max Pezzali, is an Italian singer-songwriter. He was the principal singer and songwriter of the pop rock group 883. In 2004, he released his first solo album ''Il Mondo Insieme ...

Modà Modà is an Italian pop band from Milan. Formed in 2002, the band currently consists of lead singer Kekko Silvestre, guitarists Diego Arrigoni and Enrico Zapparoli, bass guitarist Stefano Forcella and drummer Claudio Dirani. History 2000–2003 ...

feat.

Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...

Nathalie Nathalie is a female given name. It is a variant of the name Natalie/ Natalia which is found in many languages, and is especially common in French and English speaking countries. Notable people with the name include: * Nathalie, Italian singer * ...

Patty Pravo Patty Pravo (born Nicoletta Strambelli on 9 April 1948) is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in popularity in the followin ...

Roberto Vecchioni Roberto Vecchioni (born 25 June 1943) is an Italian singer-songwriter, singer-lyricist, lyricist, teacher and writer. Biography Vecchioni was born in Carate Brianza, Province of Monza and Brianza, to a Neapolitan family . In 1968 he graduated i ...

Tricarico Tricarico ( nap, label= Lucano, Trëcàrëchë ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy. It is home to one of the best preserved medieval historical centres in Lucania. Etymology The origin of the nam ...

"Newcomers" Category

* Anansi * BTwins * Gabriella Ferrone * Marco Menichini * Micaela *

Raphael Gualazzi Raffaele Gualazzi (born 11 November 1981), better known as Raphael Gualazzi, is an Italian singer and pianist. He was born in Urbino. Biography ''Love Outside the Window'' On 16 September 2005, Gualazzi released his first studio album, titled '' ...

* Roberto Amadè * Serena Abrami During the final evening of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011,

was announced as the artist that would represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.

was selected as the winner with the song "

Chiamami ancora amore "Chiamami ancora amore" is a song by Italian singer-songwriter Roberto Vecchioni, written by Vecchioni himself, together with Claudio Guidetti, which also produced the track. The song won the 61st Sanremo Music Festival, also receiving the "Mia M ...

Song selection

On 11 March 2011, RAI confirmed that Raphael Gualazzi would perform a bilingual Italian and English version of his Sanremo Music Festival 2011 ''Newcomers'' category winning song "

Follia d'amore "Follia d'amore" is a song by Raphael Gualazzi. It was the winner of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011 in the newcomer artists' section and also won the Critics' "Mia Martini" Award for newcomers. On 19 February 2011, Gualazzi was chosen by a spec ...

", which would be titled "Madness of Love" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.

At Eurovision

Italy automatically qualified for the grand final, on 14 May 2011; as part of the " Big Five", and would vote in the second semi-final. At the finals, the Italian entry performed 12th and in the voting, was placed second to the Azerbaijani entry Running Scared by Ell and Nikki with 189 points. The public awarded Italy 11th place with 99 points and the jury awarded 1st place with 251 points.

Voting

Points awarded to Italy

Points awarded by Italy

References

External links

Sanremo 2011 - Official site
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2011

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...