Italy debuted in Eurovision at the inaugural contest back in 1956 and have claimed victory twice with Gigliola Cinquetti 'Non ho l'età' (1964) and Toto Cutugno 'Insieme: 1992' (1990). Italy took a hiatus from the contest after the 1997 competition and returned with a bang in 2011 - emerging as part of the newly minted "Big Five".
In more recent years Italy has been a powerhouse of the entire contest claiming two Runner-Ups with Raphael Gualazzi 'Madness of Love' (2011) and Mahmood 'Soldi' (2019). Of the last ten entrants - half have walked away with a Top 5 position, an additional third finished in the Top 10. With results like these, Italy has cemented itself as a consistently serious contender at Eurovision.
