Canzonissima

Canzonissima (Italian pronunciation: [kantsoˈnissima]; transl. "[The] Utmost Song") was an Italian musical variety show broadcast by Rai 1 from 1958 to 1975, aired on Saturday evening 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]

Canzonissima
Paolo Panelli, Delia Scala and Nino Manfredi hosting Canzonissima in 1959
GenreVariety show
Directed by
  • Antonello Falqui
  • Mario Landi
  • Eros Macchi
  • Vito Molonari
  • Romolo Siena
Presented by
Country of originItaly
Original languageItalian
No. of seasons12
No. of episodes158
Original release
NetworkRai 1
Release22 October 1958 (1958-10-22) –
6 January 1975 (1975-01-06)

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]

History
Dalida won the 1967 finals with "Dan dan dan", a song that reflected her recent child loss.

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][3]

Editions
# Year Presenters Winner(s)
11956Adriana Serra, Antonella Steni, Raffaele Pisu and Renato Turi"Mamma" (Nunzio Gallo) and "Buon anno, buona fortuna" (Gino Latilla)
21957Enzo Tortora, Silvio Noto, Antonella Steni and Renato Turi"Scapricciatiello" (Aurelio Fierro)
31958Renato Tagliani with Walter Chiari, Raimondo Vianello, Lauretta Masiero, Scilla Gabel and Corrado Pani"L'edera" (Nilla Pizzi)
41959Delia Scala, Paolo Panelli and Nino Manfredi"Piove" (Joe Sentieri)
51960Alberto Lionello, Lauretta Masiero, Aroldo Tieri and Lilli Lembo"Romantica" (Tony Dallara)
61961Sandra Mondaini, Enzo Garinei, Toni Ucci, Carletto Sposito and Anna Maria Gambineri, with Paolo Poli, Alberto Bonucci and Tino Buazzelli"Bambina bambina" (Tony Dallara)
71962Dario Fo and Franca Rame, then Tino Buazzelli, Sandra Mondaini and Corrado"Quando, quando, quando" (Tony Renis)
81963Various (one for each region of Italy)Sicily[lower-alpha 1]
91964Nino Taranto and Nadia Gray"'O sole mio" (Claudio Villa)
101965Corrado with Walter Chiari and Kessler Twins"Non son degno di te" (Gianni Morandi)
111966Peppino De Filippo"Granada" (Claudio Villa)
121967Alberto Lupo, Franco and Ciccio"Dan dan dan" (Dalida)
131968Mina, Walter Chiari and Paolo Panelli"Scende la pioggia" (Gianni Morandi)
141969Johnny Dorelli, Raimondo Vianello and Kessler Twins, with Sandra Mondaini and Paolo Villaggio"Ma chi se ne importa" (Gianni Morandi)
151970Corrado and Raffaella Carrà"Vent'anni" (Massimo Ranieri)
161971Corrado and Raffaella Carrà, with Alighiero Noschese"Chitarra suona più piano" (Nicola Di Bari)
171972Pippo Baudo and Loretta Goggi"Erba di casa mia" (Massimo Ranieri)
181973Pippo Baudo and Mita Medici"Alle porte del sole" (Gigliola Cinquetti)
191974Raffaella Carrà, Cochi e Renato and Mike Bongiorno"Un corpo e un'anima" (Wess & Dori Ghezzi)

Notes
  1. This edition saw a competition among the regions of Italy.

References
  1. 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. Valentini, Chiara (1997). La storia di Dario Fo (in Italian). Milan: Feltrinelli.

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