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Canzonissima

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canzonissima
Paolo Panelli, Delia Scala and Nino Manfredi hosting Canzonissima in 1959
GenreMusical, variety show
Directed by
  • Antonello Falqui
  • Mario Landi
  • Eros Macchi
  • Vito Molonari
  • Romolo Siena
Presented by
Country of origin
Italy
Original language
Italian
No. of seasons13
No. of episodes161
Production
Production companyRAI
Original release
NetworkProgramma Nazionale
Release22 October 1958 (1958-10-22) –
6 January 1975 (1975-01-06)
NetworkRai 1
Release21 March (2026-03-21) –
25 April 2026 (2026-04-25)

Canzonissima (Italian: [kantsoˈnissima]; transl. "[The] Utmost Song") is an Italian musical variety show originally broadcast by Rai 1 from 1958 to 1975, aired on Saturday evenings except for the last two editions, which were aired on Sunday afternoon. The program has been referred to as "the synthesis and paradigm of Italian television variety".[1]

During its last six editions (1969–1974), the show constituted the national selection for the artist that would represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest the following year.[2] A reboot of the show has been airing since March 2026.[3]

History

[edit]
Dalida won the 1967 finals with "Dan dan dan", a song that reflected her recent loss of her unborn child.

Originating in radio as a song tournament in 1956, with the title Le canzoni della fortuna ("The songs of fortune"), it shortly gained great public success. The following year it was brought on television titled Voci e volti della fortuna ("Voices and faces of fortune") and turned into a competition between amateurs from the various regions of Italy, with the participation of some professional singers, who competed in a separate group. In 1958, the variety took its definitive name Canzonissima, with exception of 1963–1967 when the broadcast bore different titles: Gran Premio, Napoli contro tutti, La prova del nove, Scala reale and Partitissima.[1]

The show consisted of a musical contest where singers were paired with some national lottery numbers and which followed elaborate rules, generally different from one edition to another; the competition was interspersed with dances and comedy sketches involving special guests.[1]

The 1959 and 1970 editions contributed to the launch of the careers of Nino Manfredi and Raffaella Carrà, respectively.[1] The 1962 edition, hosted by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, generated large political controversities due to some of Fo's satirical sketches being censored by RAI; the couple was eventually fired, and the scandal lead to a five-year interruption of their collaboration with the broadcaster.[1][4]

In 2026, Rai announced a new edition of the popolar programme, hosted by Milly Carlucci.

Editions

[edit]
# Year Presenters Winner(s)
[a]1956Adriana Serra, Antonella Steni, Raffaele Pisu and Renato Turi"Mamma" (Nunzio Gallo) and "Buon anno, buona fortuna" (Gino Latilla)
1957Enzo Tortora, Silvio Noto, Antonella Steni and Renato Turi"Scapricciatiello" (Aurelio Fierro)
11958Renato Tagliani with Walter Chiari, Raimondo Vianello, Lauretta Masiero, Scilla Gabel and Corrado Pani"L'edera" (Nilla Pizzi)
21959Delia Scala, Paolo Panelli and Nino Manfredi"Piove" (Joe Sentieri)
31960Alberto Lionello, Lauretta Masiero, Aroldo Tieri and Lilli Lembo"Romantica" (Tony Dallara)
41961Sandra Mondaini, Enzo Garinei, Toni Ucci, Carletto Sposito and Anna Maria Gambineri, with Paolo Poli, Alberto Bonucci and Tino Buazzelli"Bambina bambina" (Tony Dallara)
51962Dario Fo and Franca Rame, then Tino Buazzelli, Sandra Mondaini and Corrado"Quando, quando, quando" (Tony Renis)
[b]1963Various (one for each region of Italy)Sicily
[c]1964Nino Taranto and Nadia Gray"'O sole mio" (Claudio Villa)
[d]1965Corrado with Walter Chiari and Kessler Twins"Non son degno di te" (Gianni Morandi)
[e]1966Peppino De Filippo"Granada" (Claudio Villa)
[f]1967Alberto Lupo, Franco and Ciccio"Dan dan dan" (Dalida)
61968Mina, Walter Chiari and Paolo Panelli"Scende la pioggia" (Gianni Morandi)
71969Johnny Dorelli, Raimondo Vianello and Kessler Twins, with Sandra Mondaini and Paolo Villaggio"Ma chi se ne importa" (Gianni Morandi)
81970Corrado and Raffaella Carrà"Vent'anni" (Massimo Ranieri)
91971Corrado and Raffaella Carrà, with Alighiero Noschese"Chitarra suona più piano" (Nicola Di Bari)
101972Pippo Baudo and Loretta Goggi"Erba di casa mia" (Massimo Ranieri)
111973Pippo Baudo and Mita Medici"Alle porte del sole" (Gigliola Cinquetti)
121974Raffaella Carrà, Cochi e Renato and Mike Bongiorno"Un corpo e un'anima" (Wess & Dori Ghezzi)
132026Milly Carlucci"Il mio canto libero" (Fabrizio Moro)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ The two original editions, usually not counted as part of the programme, consisted of a radio contest titled Le canzoni della fortuna.
  2. ↑ This edition, titled Gran Premio, saw a competition among the regions of Italy.
  3. ↑ This edition, titled Napoli contro tutti, saw a competition between Naples (represented by a Neapolitan song) and the remaining cities of Italy.
  4. ↑ This edition was titled La prova del nove.
  5. ↑ This edition was titled Scala reale.
  6. ↑ This edition was titled Partitissima.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Grasso, Aldo; Scaglioni, Massimo (1996–2003). Enciclopedia della Televisione (in Italian). Milan: Garzanti.
  2. ↑ "Eurovision: tutte le partecipazioni italiane e piazzamento". Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Canzonissima 2026, il cast dello show con Milly Carlucci". Sky TG24 (in Italian). 19 March 2026. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  4. ↑ Valentini, Chiara (1997). La storia di Dario Fo (in Italian). Milan: Feltrinelli.
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