Country Italy Selected song "Dio, come ti amo" 1966 • 1967► | Selected entrant Domenico Modugno Final result 17th=, 0 points | |
Selection process Sanremo Music Festival 1966 | ||
Italy was represented by Domenico Modugno, with the song '"Dio, come ti amo", at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 5 March in Luxembourg City. Broadcaster RAI chose the winning song from the 1966 edition of the Sanremo Music Festival as their Eurovision entry. This was Modugno's third and final appearance at Eurovision.
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Modugno performed 14th in the running order, following Monaco and preceding France. "Dio, come ti amo" was a dramatic Italian ballad, but with a very unusual and distinctive instrumental arrangement, and Modugno gave an exceptionally emotional performance during which he appeared at some points to be on the verge of crying. The package appeared to baffle the national juries, as at the close of voting "Dio, come ti amo" had failed to pick up a single point, placing Italy joint last of the 18 entries, along with the song from Monaco which had been similarly snubbed. This was the only occasion on which Italy received the dreaded nul-points, also the only time they finished last in the contest. The Italian jury awarded its 5 points to Norway.
Despite its total failure in Eurovision, "Dio, come ti amo" became a popular song in Italy and beyond and was covered by several other singers. It is generally considered among the least-deserving Eurovision nul-pointers of all.