Gigliola Cinquetti is one of Italy's best-known and best-loved singers and TV presenters. She represented her country at Eurovision twice within 10 years and is one of five artists who have won in one year and finished second in another.
Her first appearance was at the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 in Copenhagen at the age of 16 performing the song Non ho l'età. She won in convincing fashion, with over double the points more than the second-place entry from the United Kingdom, making her the youngest Eurovision winner ever until Sandra Kim eclipsed that feat 22 years later. The song went on to become a massive global hit, as did her version of Domenico Modugno's 1966 "nul pointer" Dio, come ti amo.
Ten years later, she came back to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 in Brighton with the song Sì. However, RAI did not show the performance so as not to interfere with an ongoing divorce referendum in Italy at the time, citing the reason that the song could influence the results. Nonetheless, she finished second behind ABBA.
Gigliola later co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 in Rome alongside Toto Cutugno as Italy's only Eurovision winners until Måneskin won in 2021. Today she hosts a current affairs program on RAI.
She returned to the Eurovision stage in Turin in 2022 to perform her winning song as part of the grand final interval act.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1964 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
 Hugues Aufray •  Anneke Grönloh •  Arne Bendiksen •  Bjørn Tidmand •  Lasse Mårtenson •  Udo Jürgens •  Rachel •  Matt Monro •  Nora Nova •  Romuald •  António Calvário •  Gigliola Cinquetti •  Sabahudin Kurt •  Anita Traversi •  Robert Cogoi •  Los TNT
| |||
| Songs | |||
| Dès que le printemps revient • Jij bent mijn leven • Spiral • Sangen om dig • Laiskotellen • Warum nur warum? • Le chant de Mallory • I Love the Little Things • Man gewöhnt sich so schnell an das Schöne • Où sont-elles passées • Oração • Non ho l'età • Život je sklopio krug • I miei pensieri • Près de ma rivière • Caracola
| |||
| Eurovision Song Contest 1974 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
Carita • Olivia Newton-John • Peret • Anne-Karine Strøm ft. Bendik Singers •  Marinella •  Poogy • Korni •  ABBA • Ireen Sheer • Romuald • Jacques Hustin • Mouth & MacNeal •  Tina Reynolds • Cindy & Bert • Piera Martell • Paulo de Carvalho • Gigliola Cinquetti
| |||
| Songs | |||
| Keep Me Warm • Long Live Love • Canta y sé feliz • The First Day Of Love • Krasi, thalassa kai t'agori mou • Natati La Khayay • Moja generacija • Waterloo • Bye Bye I Love You • Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va • Fleur de liberté • I See A Star • Cross Your Heart • Die Sommermelodie • Mein Ruf nach dir • E depois do adeus • Sì
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Trivia[]
- Gigliola would be the last female soloist to take her winning Sanremo song to Eurovision until 2024.