# Sanremo Music Festival 1957

The Sanremo Music Festival 1957 (Italian: Festival di Sanremo 1957), officially the 7th Italian Song Festival (VII Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo), was the seventh annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Sanremo Casino in Sanremo between 7 and 10 February 1957. It was organised by the Italian broadcaster RAI in cooperation with the Sanremo Casino. Giulio Razzi [it] served as the artistic director. The shows were presented by Nunzio Filogamo, Marisa Allasio, Fiorella Mari, and Nicoletta Orsomando.
Every song was performed twice, with different singers or groups, and with most artists performing multiple songs. This edition included four nights, containing two semi-finals, a final and a competition of songs submitted by independent composers.
The winner of the festival was "Corde della mia chitarra", performed by Claudio Villa and Nunzio Gallo. The winner of the competition also went on to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, with Gallo chosen from the two interpreters.

## Competing entries

In a change from previous years, the selection of the entries for the Sanremo Music Festival was combined with the selection of 150 songs for RAI's radio programs of 1957.
Composers were required to have Italian citizenship. The lyrics were required to be in Italian or "in dialect". Submitted songs were not allowed to have been published or performed in public before the festival. Composers and music publishing firms could submit their songs until 15 October 1956. More than 4,000 songs were submitted, with more than 2,000 sent in from record companies. A commission of fifteen members first selected 150 songs, 124 of which had been submitted by record companies, 26 by independent composers.
From the first selection of 150 songs, a jury chose twenty songs among the submissions by music publishing firms and another ten songs among those submitted by independent composers. The jury consisted of Pietro Argento, Umberto Del Ciglio, E. A. Mario, Aldo Palazzeschi and two RAI program directors, with Guglielmo Emanuel [it] acting as jury president.
For the first time in the history of the Festival, two separate competitions were held: The twenty songs by music professionals and the ten songs by independent composers competed in two separate sections of the Sanremo Festival, with a winner chosen separately for each of the two categories.
Before the start of the festival, it was found out that the song "La cosa più bella" already had been commercially released in August 1956, which constituted a violation of the rules of the festival. Subsequently, the entry was disqualified without any replacement, which led to a final number of 19 competing entries in this category.
Entries presented by music publishing firms :
| Song | Songwriter(s) | Publishing firm |
| "Ancora ci credo" | Ettore Fecchi [it]Michelangelo Campanozzi | Radiomelodie |
| "A poco a poco" | Marcella Rivi [it]Carlo Innocenzi | Nazionale |
| "Cancello tra le rose" | Umberto Bertini [it]Marino De Paolis | E.C.O. |
| "Casetta in Canadà [it]" | Mario PanzeriVittorio Mascheroni [it] | Mascheroni |
| "Corde della mia chitarra" | Giuseppe Fiorelli [it]Mario Ruccione [it] | Suvini Zerboni |
| "Estasi" | Carlo Da VinciLinda Lucci | Ulpia |
| "Finalmente" | Marcella Rivi [it]Giuseppe Bonavolontà [it] | De Santis |
| "Il pericolo numero uno" | Enzo Bonagura [it]Michele Cozzoli | Campi |
| "Intorno a te (è sempre primavera)" | Mario De Angelis | Nord Sud |
| "La cosa più bella" | Pinchi [it]Dino Olivieri | Continental |
| "Le trote blu" | Diego Calcagno [it]Luigi Gelmini | Souvenir |
| "Nel giardino del mio cuore" | Gian Carlo Testoni [it]Gorni Kramer | Kramer |
| "Non ti ricordi più" | Carlo Da VinciGino Poggiali | R. Maurri |
| "Per una volta ancora" | Umberto Bertini [it]Giovanni D'Anzi | D'Anzi |
| "Raggio nella nebbia" | Franco Salina [it]Luigi Pagano | Radiomelodie |
| "Scusami [it]" | Ornella FerrariWalter Malgoni [it]Anna Perrone | Italcarisch |
| "Un certo sorriso" | Giuseppe Fiorelli [it]Mario Ruccione [it] | Canzoni Moderne |
| "Un filo di speranza" | Gian Carlo Testoni [it]Saverio Seracini [it] | La Cicala |
| "Un sogno di cristallo" | Alberto TestaPino Calvi | Sonzogno [it] |
| "Usignolo" | Luigi L. MartelliGino CastellaniCarlo Concina [it] | Casiroli |
Entries presented by independent composers :
| Song | Songwriter(s) |
| "Chiesetta solitaria" | Alfredo BezziCorrado Pintaldi |
| "Era l'epoca del cuore" | Nello Segurini |
| "Il mio cielo" | Edoardo De LeitenburgLuciano Beretta [it] |
| "Il nostro sì" | Franco LodigianiFernando C. Mainardi |
| "La cremagliera delle Dolomiti" | Giulio PerrettaDino Fedri |
| "La più bella canzone del mondo" | Astro Mari [it]Gino Filippini |
| "Ondamarina" | Dario Bernazza [it]Luciano Lops |
| "Sono un sognatore" | Piero UmilianiGian Carlo Testoni [it] |
| "Sorrisi e lacrime" | Raoul De GiustiFranco Cassano [it] |
| "Venezia mia" | Mario Peragallo |

## Contest overview

The Sanremo Music Festival 1957 consisted of four shows, with the competition among the 19 songs submitted by music publishers taking place in two semi-finals on 7 and 8 February 1957, and a final held on 9 February 1957. The ten entries submitted by independent composers competed in their category on 10 February 1957.
Each of the four nights included overall twenty performances, ten songs with two performances for each, except for the second night which presented nine songs and overall eighteen performances. Five songs advanced from each semi-final to again compose ten songs for the third and final night.
The artists were accompanied by a 19-piece-orchestra under the musical direction of Cinico Angelini and by a jazz orchestra of 34 instruments under the direction of Armando Trovajoli. After all songs in each show had been performed, a recap of the competing entries was played on the piano by Alberto Semprini.
Fifteen juries, among them one jury composed of 70 spectators in Sanremo drawn by lot, and 14 juries sitting in RAI's regional headquarters, composed of 15 radio listeners each also chosen by lot, decided the winning songs by voting. In order to prevent biases, the members of all juries were replaced for each show. As to the Sanremo jury, only spectators who had bought their seat in the public ticket sale were eligible to be drawn. Tickets for the show were reportedly in high demand, costing up to 9,000–10,000 lire for the final.

### Semi-final 1

The first semi-final of the entries submitted by music publishers took place on 7 February 1957 at 22:00 CET (21:00 UTC). Ten songs competed, five of them were selected for the final. In the Sanremo jury, which consisted of 70 spectators drawn by lot, figured also singer Nilla Pizzi, a fact that drew public attention since she had not only won the Sanremo editions of 1951 and 1952 but had also held a press conference shortly before in order to protest against her not being chosen as a singer for this edition.
Semi-final 1 – 7 February 1957 :
| R/O | Artist 1 | Artist 2 | Song | Points | Place |
| 1 | Gino Baldi [it] | Luciano Virgili [it] | "Finalmente" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 2 | Gianni Ravera | Natalino Otto | "Un certo sorriso" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 3 | Fiorella Bini [it] | Flo Sandon's | "Estasi" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 4 | Claudio Villa and Gino Latilla | Natalino Otto | "Il pericolo numero uno" | 66 | 5 |
| 5 | Claudio Villa | Giorgio Consolini | "Cancello tra le rose" | 89 | 2 |
| 6 | Gino Latilla | Nunzio Gallo | "Non ti ricordo più" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 7 | Carla Boni, Gino Latilla and Duo Fasano | Gloria Christian and Il Poker di Voci [it] | "Casetta in Canadà" | 78 | 3 |
| 8 | Gino Latilla | Tonina Torrielli | "Scusami" | 78 | 3 |
| 9 | Claudio Villa | Giorgio Consolini | "Usignolo" | 97 | 1 |
| 10 | Carla Boni | Jula De Palma | "Un sogno di cristallo" | Eliminated | Eliminated |

### Semi-final 2

The second semi-final of the entries submitted by music publishers took place on 8 February 1957 at 22:00 CET. Nine songs competed, five of them were selected for the final.
Semi-final 2 – 8 February 1957 :
| R/O | Artist 1 | Artist 2 | Song | Points | Place |
| 1 | Tonina Torrielli | Tina Allori [it] | "Intorno a te (è sempre primavera)" | 92 | 3 |
| 2 | Jula De Palma | Gino Baldi [it] | "Nel giardino del mio cuore" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 3 | Gloria Christian, Natalino Otto and Il Poker di Voci [it] | Carla Boni and Duo Fasano | "Le trote blu" | 36 | 5 |
| 4 | Jula De Palma and Il Poker di voci | Fiorella Bini [it] and Duo Fasano | "Raggio nella nebbia" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 5 | Nunzio Gallo | Carla Boni | "Per una volta ancora" | 43 | 4 |
| 6 | Natalino Otto | Gino Baldi and Duo Fasano | "Un filo di speranza" | 93 | 2 |
| 7 | Flo Sandon's | Tina Allori | "Ancora ci credo" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 8 | Luciano Virgili [it] | Gino Latilla | "A poco a poco" | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 9 | Nunzio Gallo | Claudio Villa | "Corde della mia chitarra" | 161 | 1 |

### Final

The final took place on 9 February 1957 at 22:00 CET. The top three songs were performed again at the end of the show.
Final – 9 February 1957 :
| R/O | Artist 1 | Artist 2 | Song | Points | Place |
| 1 | Carla Boni and Duo Fasano | Gloria Christian, Natalino Otto and Il Poker di Voci [it] | "Le trote blu" | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Carla Boni | Nunzio Gallo | "Per una volta ancora" | 12 | 8 |
| 3 | Gino Latilla and Claudio Villa | Natalino Otto and Il Poker di Voci | "Il pericolo numero uno" | 24 | 6 |
| 4 | Gino Latilla | Tonina Torrielli | "Scusami [it]" | 43 | 3 |
| 5 | Carla Boni, Gino Latilla and Duo Fasano | Gloria Christian and Il Poker di Voci | "Casetta in Canadà [it]" | 32 | 4 |
| 6 | Claudio Villa | Giorgio Consolini | "Cancello tra le rose" | 30 | 5 |
| 7 | Tina Allori [it] | Tonina Torrielli | "Intorno a te (è sempre primavera)" | 16 | 7 |
| 8 | Gino Latillo and Duo Fasano | Natalino Otto and Il Poker di Voci | "Un filo di speranza" | 7 | 9 |
| 9 | Claudio Villa | Giorgio Consolini | "Usignolo" | 48 | 2 |
| 10 | Claudio Villa | Nunzio Gallo | "Corde della mia chitarra" | 63 | 1 |
Detailed voting results of the final :
| | Total score | Ancona | Bari | Bologna | Bolzano | Cagliari | Florence | Genoa | Milan | Naples | Palermo | Rome | Turin | Trieste | Venice | Sanremo |
| "Le trote blu" | 4 | 1 | | 1 | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | |
| "Per una volta ancora" | 12 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | 2 | | | | 2 | 4 |
| "Il pericolo numero uno" | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | 4 | 4 |
| "Scusami" | 43 | 1 | 2 | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| "Casetta in Canadà" | 32 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | | 1 | | | | 3 | 2 | 3 | | 15 |
| "Cancello tra le rose" | 30 | 1 | 3 | 4 | | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| "Intorno a te (è sempre primavera)" | 16 | 1 | | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | 1 | 2 | | | | 4 |
| "Un filo di speranza" | 7 | | | | | | | 1 | 1 | | | 2 | | 1 | | 2 |
| "Usignolo" | 48 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | 5 | | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| "Corde della mia chitarra" | 63 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |

### Independent composers competition

As the fourth and final night of the festival, the competition between entries submitted by independent composers (Concorso liberi autori) took place on 10 February 1957 at 22:00 CET.
Independent composers competition – 10 February 1957 :
| R/O | Artist 1 | Artist 2 | Song | Points | Place |
| 1 | Claudio Villa | Giorgio Consolini | "Chiesetta solitaria" | 24 | 4 |
| 2 | Duo Fasano | Gloria Christian and Il Poker di Voci [it] | "La cremagliera delle Dolomiti" | 16 | 5 |
| 3 | Tina Allori [it] | Flo Sandon's | "Era l'epoca del Cuore" | 13 | 6 |
| 4 | Gino Latilla | Natalino Otto | "Sono un sognatore" | 6 | 10 |
| 5 | Gianni Ravera and Duo Fasano | Luciano Virgili [it] and Il Poker di Voci | "Venezia mia" | 66 | 2 |
| 6 | Gino Baldi [it] | Tonina Torrielli | "Il nostro sì" | 13 | 6 |
| 7 | Claudio Villa | Giorgio Consolini | "Ondamarina" | 80 | 1 |
| 8 | Fiorella Bini [it] | Jula De Palma | "Sorrisi e lacrime" | 13 | 6 |
| 9 | Gino Latilla | Nunzio Gallo | "La più bella canzone del mondo" | 36 | 3 |
| 10 | Carla Boni | Luciano Virgili | "Il mio cielo" | 12 | 9 |
This seventh edition of the Sanremo Music Festival was seen as a particular success for singer Claudio Villa who had sung the first- and second-placed entries of the final as well as the song which won the independent composers competition.

## Broadcasts
### Local broadcast

All shows were broadcast on Italian Television and Secondo Programma, beginning at 22:00 CET. In the semi-finals, Italian television finished its broadcasts after the first part of each show, whereas on the radio a second part aired after midnight where the five songs chosen for the final were performed again.

### International broadcasts

The final of 9 February 1957 was also broadcast via the Eurovision network in other countries. Known details on the broadcasts of the final in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations are shown in the tables below.
International broadcasters of the Sanremo Music Festival 1957 Final – 9 February 1957 :
| Country | Broadcaster | Channel(s) | Commentator(s) |
| Austria | ORF | Österreichisches Fernsehen | |
| Belgium | NIR | NIR | |
| Denmark | Statsradiofonien | Statsradiofonien TV | Mogens Kjelstrup |
| France | RTF | RTF | Jean Landier [fr] |
| Germany | ARD | Deutsches Fernsehen | Elena Gerhardt |
| Luxembourg | CLT | Télé-Luxembourg | |
| Monaco | Télé Monte-Carlo | Télé Monte-Carlo | |
| Monaco | Radio Monte Carlo | Radio Monte Carlo | |
| Netherlands | NTS | NTS | Maurits de Wilde |
| Sweden | SR | Sveriges TV | |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR | SRG | |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR | TSR | Jean Landier |
The independent composers competition on 10 February was also broadcast on Radio Monte Carlo.
Broadcaster RAI estimated that in Italy seven million viewers and listeners followed the contest.

## Eurovision Song Contest

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, which was held on 3 March 1957 in Frankfurt, Italy was represented by the song "Corde della mia chitarra", which had won the final in the category of entries submitted by music publishers. At the Eurovision Song Contest, it was sung by Nunzio Gallo. Gallo was accompanied on stage by the guitar player Piero Gosio. Armando Trovajoli conducted the orchestra for the Italian entry. The performance of the song drew attention due to its extensive length of more than five minutes. From 1958 on, the maximum duration of each Eurovision entry was limited to three and a half minutes.
Out of ten songs from ten competing countries at the Eurovision Song Contest, the Italian song achieved seventh place, receiving points from five out of the nine other countries.
Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was broadcast in Italy on Secondo Programma and Italian Television.