Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 48 times since making its debut as one of only seven countries to compete at the first contest in 1956, which took inspiration from the Sanremo Music Festival. Italy competed at the contest without interruption until 1980, discontinuing its participation on a number of occasions during the 1980s and 1990s. After a 13-year absence starting in 1998, the country returned to the contest in 2011. Italy has won the contest three times, along with an additional 16 top-five finishes. Italy hosted the contest in Naples (1965), Rome (1991) and Turin (2022).
Bobby Solo in Naples (1965)
Gianni Morandi in Amsterdam (1970)
Raphael Gualazzi in Düsseldorf (2011)
Marco Mengoni in Malmö (2013)
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
Videos
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio svizzera italiana (RSI) on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. The contest, originally titled the Gran Premio Eurovisione 1956 della Canzone Europea, was held on Thursday 24 May 1956 at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland, and hosted by Swiss television presenter Lohengrin Filipello, which remains the only time that the contest has been hosted by a solo male presenter.
Teatro Kursaal, Lugano – host venue of the 1956 contest
Marcel Bezençon (pictured in 1980) was instrumental in the creation of the contest as president of the EBU's Programme Committee.
Switzerland's Lys Assia (pictured in 1957) was the first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, and would represent her country in the contest again in 1957 and 1958.