Miss Italia

Miss Italia is the name of 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

The 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.

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 to the pageant.

Like contemporary Italian society itself, the 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 Mendez became the first Miss Italia woman of colour.

Among the participants finding later success in cinema and the entertainment industry at large (although many not having actually won the crown of Miss Italia itself) include: Silvana Pampanini, Sophia Loren, Lucia Bosè, Stefania Sandrelli, Mirca Viola, Simona Ventura, Anna Falchi and Martina Colombari.

Since 1959 the organizer of Miss Italia has 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 Wertmuller, Dino Risi, Alberto Sordi, and Claudia Cardinale.

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 of 2011 and a long list of cities have expressed interest in hosting the pageant. Cities include Sanremo, Roma,Fiuggi,Taormina and many 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.

Regional rankings

Titles	State	Winning Years
10	Lombardia	1940–1941–1947–1956–1960–1965–1978–1982–1985-1990
9	Lazio	1950–1951–1952–1953–1967–1971–1972–1993-2000
8	Sicilia	1954–1966–1976–1977–1988–1995–2003-2008
6	Veneto	1957-1964–1989–1992–2002-2007
5	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	1948–1970–1974–1984-1987
5	Calabria	1955–1968–1997-2009-2011
4	Piemonte	1939–1983–2004-2005
4	Toscana	1946–1973–1980-1996
3	Campania	1959–1986-2001
3	Emilia-Romagna	1958-1991–1998
3	Marche	1949–1969-1981
2	Umbria	1962–2010
2	Sardegna	1963–1994
2	Liguria	1961–1975
1	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol	2006
1	Puglia	1999
1	Abruzzo	1979

The Winners of Miss Italia

Miss Sorriso
1939	Isabella Vernay	1940	Gianna Maranesi	1941	Adriana Serra
1942	No pageant	1943	No pageant	1944	No pageant
1945	No pageant
Miss Italia
1946	Rossana Martini	1947	Lucia Bosè	1948	Fulvia Franco
1949	Mariella Gianpieri	1950	Anna Maria Bugliari	1951	Isabella Valdettaro
1952	Eloisa Cianni	1953	Marcella Mariani	1954	Eugenia Bonino
1955	Brunella Tocci	1956	Nives Zegna	1957	Beatrice Faccioli
1958	Paola Falchi	1959	Marisa Jossa	1960	Layla Rigazzi
1961	Franca Cattaneo	1962	Raffaella De Carolis	1963	Franca Dallolio
1964	Mirka Sartori	1965	Alba Rigazzi	1966	Daniela Giordano
1967	Cristina Businari	1968	Graziella Chiappalone	1969	Anna Zamboni
1970	Alba Balestra	1971	Maria Pinnone	1972	Adonella Modestini
1973	Margareta Veroni	1974	Loredana Piazza	1975	Livia Jannoni
1976	Paola Bresciano	1977	Anna Kanakis	1978	Loren Cristina May
1979	Cinzia De Ponti	1980	Cinzia Lenzi	1981	Patrizia Nanetti
1982	Federica Moro	1983	Raffaella Baracchi	1984	Susanna Huckstep
1985	Eleonora Resta	1986	Roberta Capua	1987	Michela Rocco di Torrepadula[1]
1988	Nadia Bengala	1989	Eleonora Benfatto	1990	Rosangela Bessi
1991	Martina Colombari	1992	Gloria Zanin	1993	Arianna David
1994	Alessandra Meloni	1995	Anna Valle	1996	Denny Mendez
1997	Claudia Trieste	1998	Gloria Bellicchi	1999	Manila Nazzaro
2000	Tania Zamparo	2001	Daniela Ferolla	2002	Eleonora Pedron
2003	Francesca Chillemi	2004	Cristina Chiabotto	2005	Edelfa Chiara Masciotta
2006	Claudia Andreatti	2007	Silvia Battisti	2008	Miriam Leone
2009	Maria Perrusi	2010	Francesca Testasecca	2011	Stefania Bivone

Note

1. ^ 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.

1973 Naples Italy, Berardi

See also

• Miss Universo Italia
• Miss Italia nel Mondo

External links

• Miss Italia Official site (Italian)