# Miss Italia

Miss Italia is 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.

## History
### Early history and beginnings (1927-1935)

From 1927 to 1935, there were contests held in vein of the modern day Miss Italia contest, with the winners often referred to as Miss Italy. This is mainly to chose Italy's representatives for both the International Pageant of Pulchritude (also known as "Miss Universe") and later on, Miss Europe.
| Year | Miss Italy | International Pageant |
| 1927 | Maria Gallo | 1927 International Pageant of Pulchritude |
| 1928 | Livia Marracci | 1928 International Pageant of Pulchritude |
| 1929 | Derna Giovannini | Miss Europe 1929 |
| 1930 | Mafalda Morittino | Miss Europe 1930 |
| 1931 | Claudia Bracetti | Miss Europe 1931 |
| 1932 | Rosetta Montali | Miss Europe 1932 |
| 1933 | Ivana Fusco | Miss Europe 1933 |
| 1934 | Tosca Giusti | Miss Europe 1934 and 1935 International Pageant of Pulchritude |
| 1935 | Vanna Panzarasa | Miss Europe 1935 |

### Miss Sorriso (1939-1941)

The main 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.

### Founding of the modern day contest (1946-present)

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 of the pageant.
Like contemporary Italian society itself, 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 Méndez became the first Miss Italia woman of colour.
Among the participants finding later success in cinema and the entertainment industry at large (although many of them have not won the crown of Miss Italia itself) include: Silvana Pampanini, Sophia Loren, Marcella Mariani, Lucia Bosè, Stefania Sandrelli, Mirca Viola, Simona Ventura, Patrizia Deitos, Anna Falchi and Martina Colombari.
From 1959 to 1988 the sole organizer of Miss Italia had 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, Giovannino Guareschi, Luchino Visconti, Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Alberto Lattuada, Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Lina Wertmüller, Dino Risi, Alberto Sordi, and Claudia Cardinale.
In 1989, Mirigliani and his daughter Patrizia Mirigliani started to organize the contest together until Enzo Mirigliani stepped down in May 2010 and died in 2011. After that Patrizia Mirigliani became the sole organizer of the contest.
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.
Miss Italia will no longer be held in Salsomaggiore Terme, for economic reasons. This was announced in April 2011 and a long list of cities have expressed interest in hosting the pageant. Cities include Sanremo, Rome, Fiuggi, Taormina and many more. It was officially announced that Miss Italia 2011 will be held in Montecatini Terme. Milly Carlucci will not return as host of the pageant. Fabrizio Frizzi has replaced her for Miss Italia 2011. The pageant will only take place over two nights, rather than three. This year the beauty pageant contest, back in a national broadcast television. The contest will be produced by Infront and RAI, The host will be Alessandro Greco. A program by Casimiro Lieto, Luca Parenti and Alessandro Migliaccio. Directed by Francesco Ebner.
In July 2023, in response to Miss Nederland being won by an openly transgender woman (Rikkie Kollé), Miss Italia instituted a blanket ban on trans women from competing. As a response, several trans men applied to enter the contest.

### Directorship and Organizer History

* Dino Villani (1939-1959)
* Enzo Mirigliani (1959-1988)
* Enzo Mirigliani and Patrizia Mirigliani (1989-2009)
* Patrizia Mirigliani (2010-present)

### Regional rankings

| Titles | Region | Winning Years |
| 12 | Lazio | 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1993, 2000, 2015, 2020, 2022 |
| 11 | Sicily | 1954, 1966, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1995, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| 11 | Lombardy | 1940, 1941, 1947, 1956–1960, 1965, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1990, 2019, 2023 |
| 6 | Veneto | 1957, 1964, 1989, 1992, 2002, 2007 |
| 6 | Tuscany | 1946, 1973, 1980, 1996, 2016, 2024 |
| 5 | Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 1948, 1970, 1974, 1984, 1987 |
| 5 | Calabria | 1955, 1968, 1997, 2009, 2011 |
| 5 | Piedmont | 1939, 1983, 2004, 2005, 2023 |
| 4 | Campania | 1959, 1986, 2001, 2021 |
| 4 | Marche | 1949, 1969, 1981, 2018 |
| 3 | Emilia-Romagna | 1958, 1991, 1998 |
| 2 | Trentino-Alto Adige | 2006, 2017 |
| 2 | Umbria | 1962, 2010 |
| 2 | Sardinia | 1963, 1994 |
| 2 | Liguria | 1961, 1975 |
| 1 | Apulia | 1999 |
| 1 | Abruzzo | 1979 |
| 0 | Aosta Valley | |
| 0 | Basilicata | |
| 0 | Molise | |

## The winners of Miss Italia

Miss Sorriso :
| 1939 | Isabella Verney | 1940 | Gianna Maranesi | 1941 | Adriana Serra |
| 1942 | No pageant | 1943 | No pageant | 1944 | No pageant |
| 1945 | No pageant | | | | |
| Miss Italia ||||||
| 1946 | Rossana Martini | 1947 | Lucia Bosè | 1948 | Fulvia Franco |
| 1949 | Mariella Gianpieri | 1950 | Anna Maria Bugliari | 1951 | Isabella Valdettaro |
| 1952 | Eloisa Cianni | 1953 | Marcella Mariani | 1954 | Eugenia Bonino |
| 1955 | Brunella Tocci | 1956 | Nives Zegna | 1957 | Beatrice Faccioli |
| 1958 | Paola Falchi | 1959 | Marisa Jossa | 1960 | Layla Rigazzi |
| 1961 | Franca Cattaneo | 1962 | Raffaella De Carolis | 1963 | Franca Dallolio |
| 1964 | Giorgio Bonino | 1965 | Alba Rigazzi | 1966 | Daniela Giordano |
| 1967 | Federico Acquadro il terribile al quadrato | 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 |
| 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 | Miriam Leone |
| 2009 | Maria Perrusi | 2010 | Francesca Testasecca | 2011 | Stefania Bivone |
| 2012 | Giusy Buscemi | 2013 | Giulia Arena | 2014 | Clarissa Marchese |
| 2015 | Alice Sabatini | 2016 | Rachele Risaliti | 2017 | Alice Rachele Arlanch |
| 2018 | Carlotta Maggiorana | 2019 | Carolina Stramare | 2020 | Martina Sambucini |
| 2021 | Zeudi Di Palma | 2022 | Lavinia Abate | 2023 | Francesca Bergesio |
| 2024 | Ofelia Passaponti | 2025 | | 2026 | |

## Hosts

* Corrado Mantoni: 1946–56
* Nunzio Filogamo: 1952
* Enzo Mirigliani: 1959, 1961–78
* Renato Tagliani: 1960
* Mike Bongiorno: 1970, 1975, 2007
* Daniele Piombi: 1974
* Gabriella Farinon: 1974
* Pippo Baudo: 1976
* Alberto Lupo: 1977
* Vanna Brosio: 1979
* Andrea Giordana: 1980–1981, 1984, 1987
* Memo Remigi: 1982
* Ettore Andenna: 1983
* Michele Gammino: 1983
* Milly Carlucci: 1983, 2009, 2010
* Marco Columbro: 1986
* Fabrizio Frizzi: 1988–2002, 2011, 2012
* Carlo Conti: 2003–06, 2008
* Loretta Goggi: 2007
* Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice: 2010
* Massimo Ghini: 2013
* Cesare Bocci: 2013
* Francesca Chillemi: 2013
* Simona Ventura: 2014–2015
* Francesco Facchinetti: 2016–18
* Diletta Leotta: 2018
* Alessandro Greco: 2019-2020
* Alessandro Di Sarno: 2021
* Elettra Lamborghini: 2021
* Carolina Stramare: 2021
* Salvo Sottile: 2022
* Jo Squillo: 2023
* Andrea Dianetti: 2024