Italy - country of returns!

Not is Italy only a returnee as a country (making returns after absenses in 1983, 1987, 1997 and 2011) also its artists seem to be returning. I have no statistics but my wild guess is they have more returning artists than any other country!

Domenico Modugno first entered in 1958 with Nel blú, dipinto di blú, better known as Volare. It only scored third place but later became a world hit and is the most sold and covered Eurovision song in the history. He returned next year to score another megahit Piove, better known as Ciao, ciao bambina. Only 6th. Despite all he returned for the third time in 1966 with Dio, come ti amo sung also by Gigliola Cinquetti in Sanremo. A flat zero points and last place! Italy's only null pointer....

Another Italian legend Claudio Villa also did Eurovision twice. In 1962 with Addio, addio (9th) and in 1967 with Non andare piú lontano (11th). Like with Modugno the international jurors didn't quite get them.

Then came wonderful Gigliola Cinquetti winning in 1964 with Non ho l'età and ten years later nearly becoming the first double winner when Si came 2nd beaten only by ABBA.

Massimo Ranieri, another heavy weighter in the Italian league did Eurovision twice in the 1970's: L'amore é un attimo in 1971 (5th) and Chi sará con te 1973 (13th) proving Italians always do worse in the second time it seems.

Albano and Romina Power first participated in 1976 with Noi lo rivivremo di nuovo aka We'll live it all again, the only Italian entry so far partly sung in English (except for Toto Cutugno's winner's few shouts Unite! Unite! of course). In 1985 they were back at it with Magic, oh magic (well that's English, too, isn't it?). Both songs finished 7th so that's already remarkable.

Finally we have late Mia Martini, the only one who managed to do better the second time around: 13th with Libera in 1977 and 4th with Rapsodia in 1992.

But what can we say about Sardinian born Roberto Meloni? He represanted Latvia with Bonaparti.lv in 2008 with Questa notte (16th) and returned as Pirates of the Sea with Wolves of the sea in 2009 (12th). The first time he even made them all sing in Italian so does he count in?

Many names have been mentioned as the possible 2011 artist for Italy but a return seems unlike. Nathalie and Marco Mengoni are discussed the most, some have even mentioned guess who? Yes, Roberto Meloni! That if nothing is wild speculation! But what if Nathalie indeed did Italy and Mengoni went for San Marino instead?

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