Miss Italia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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[edit] 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, Giovanni 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.
The 67th edition of the pageant took place as usual in Salsomaggiore Terme, beginning September 18 and concluding September 22, 2006, and was broadcasted live on Italian Television channel Raiuno.
[edit] 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 and Silvana Pampanini | 1947 | Lucia Bosè | 1948 | Fulvia Franco |
| 1949 | Mariella Gianpieri | 1950 | Anna Maria Bugliari | 1951 | Isabella Valdettaro |
| 1952 | Eloisa Ciani | 1953 | Marcella Mariani | 1954 | Eugenia Bonino |
| 1955 | Brunella Tocci | 1956 | Nives Zegna | 1957 | Beatrice Faccioli |
| 1958 | Paola Falchi | 1959 | Marisa Jossa | 1960 | Layla Ragazzi |
| 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 | |
[edit] Note
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Miss Italia Official site (Italian)
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