Welcome all to the 182nd edition of the Forum Song Contest, and to our wonderful host city of Genoa, Italy!
We are gathered here because of Italy's strong victory in the previous edition of FSC, so before we start, let's revisit the winning entry of FSC #181 and our current champion, Annalisa with "Sinceramente":
Our beautiful host city for this edition is Genoa, Italy.
Genoa (Genova in Italian, Zêna in Ligurian) is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. Genoa has historically been one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean and is one of the Italy’s major economic centers. The population of Genoa is approximately 580,097 and it forms the southern corner of the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle of Northwest Italy and this is why a great number of leading Italian companies are based in this city. The city of Genoa covers an area of 243 square kilometres between the Ligurian Sea and the Apennine Mountains and the city stretches along the coast for about 30 kilometres.
Genoa is known by being adjacent to two popular Ligurian vacation spots: Camogli and Portofino, as well as because of their Palazzi di Rolli, included among the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Genoa’s historic centre is articulated in a maze of squares, as are the typical Genoese alleys. It joins a medieval dimension with following 16th century and Baroque interventions.
Genoa was the capital of one of the most powerful maritime republics for over seven centuries, from the 11th century to 1797. Particularly from the 12th century to the 15th century, the city played a leading role in the commercial trade in Europe, becoming one of the largest naval powers of the continent and considered among the wealthiest cities in the world. It was also nicknamed la Superba ("the proud one") by Petrarch due to its glories on the seas and impressive landmarks. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, and its solid financial sector dates back to the Middle Ages.
The city's modern name may derive from the Latin word meaning "knee" (genu; plural, genua) but there are other theories. It could derive from the god Janus, because Genoa, like him, has two faces: a face that looks at the sea and another turned to the mountains. Or it could come from the Latin word ianua, also related to the name of the God Janus, and meaning "door", or "passage." Besides that, it may refer to its geographical position at the centre of the Ligurian coastal arch.
Another theory traces the name to the Etruscan word Kainua which means "New City", based on an inscription on a pottery sherd reading Kainua, which suggests that the Latin name may be a corruption of an older Etruscan one with an original meaning of "new town".
The city's area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In the fifth century BC the first town, or oppidum, was founded probably by the ancient Ligures (which gave the name to the modern region of Liguria) at the top of the hill today called Castello (Castle), which is now inside the medieval old town. In this period the Genoese town, inhabited by the "Genuati" (a group of Ligure peoples), was considered "the emporium of the Ligurians", given its strong commercial character.
Genoa started expanding during the First Crusade. At the time the city had a population of about 10,000. Twelve galleys, one ship and 1,200 soldiers from Genoa joined the crusade. The Genoese troops, led by noblemen de Insula and Avvocato, set sail in July 1097. The Genoese fleet transported and provided naval support to the crusaders, mainly during the siege of Antioch in 1098, when the Genoese fleet blockaded the city while the troops provided support during the siege. In the siege of Jerusalem in 1099 Genoese crossbowmen led by Guglielmo Embriaco acted as support units against the defenders of the city.
In the 15th century two of the earliest banks in the world were founded in Genoa: the Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, which was the oldest state deposit bank in the world at its closure in 1805 and the Banca Carige, founded in 1483 as a mount of piety, which still exists. Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa c. 1451, and donated one-tenth of his income from the discovery of the Americas for Spain to the Bank of Saint George in Genoa for the relief of taxation on foods. Thereafter, Genoa underwent something of an associate of the Spanish Empire, with Genoese bankers, in particular, financing many of the Spanish crown's foreign endeavors from their counting houses in Seville.
From the 17th century, the Genoese Republic started a period of slow decline. In May 1625 a French-Savoian army briefly laid siege to Genoa. A plague killed as many as half of the inhabitants of Genoa in 1656–57. The Convention of Turin of 1742, in which Austria allied with the Kingdom of Sardinia, caused some consternation in the Republic. On 26 June 1745, the Republic of Genoa declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia. This decision would prove disastrous for Genoa, which later surrendered to the Austrians in September 1746 and was briefly occupied before a revolt liberated the city two months later. In a much weaker state, Genoa was forced to cede Corsica to the French in the 1768 Treaty of Versailles.
The direct intervention of Napoleon and his representatives in Genoa was the final act that led to the fall of the Republic in early June 1796, who overthrew the old elites which had ruled the state for all of its history, giving birth to the Ligurian Republic on 14 June 1797, under the watchful care of Napoleonic France. Following the fall of Napoleon, Genoa regained ephemeral independence, with the name of the Repubblica genovese, which lasted less than a year. However, the Congress of Vienna established the annexation of the whole territories of the former Genoese Republic to the Kingdom of Sardinia, governed by the House of Savoy.
The historical centre, also known as old town, of Genoa is one of the largest and most-densely populated in Europe. Part of it was also inscribed on the World Heritage List (UNESCO) in 2006 as Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli. Genoa's historical city centre is also known for its narrow lanes and streets that the locals call "caruggi". Genoa is also home to the University of Genoa, which has a history going back to the 15th century, when it was known as Genuense Athenaeum. The city's rich cultural history in art, music and cuisine allowed it to become the 2004 European Capital of Culture.
The symbols of the city are the Lanterna (the lighthouse) (117 metres high), old and standing lighthouse visible in the distance from the sea (beyond 30 kilometres ), and the monumental fountain of Piazza De Ferrari, recently restored, out-and-out core of the city's life. Near Piazza De Ferrari and Teatro Carlo Felice is the Mazzini Gallery, a typical nineteenth-century structure with many elegant shops and coffee bars. Another tourist destination is the ancient seaside district of Boccadasse (which means "the mouth of the donkey"), with its multicolour boats, set as a seal to Corso Italia, the promenade which runs along the Lido d'Albaro, and known for its ice-creams.
The theme to be used throughout this edition is: "Oceans: Life in Abundance". This is inspired by the Aquarium of Genoa.
The Aquarium of Genoa (in Italian: Acquario di Genova) is the largest aquarium in Italy and among the largest in Europe. Built for Genoa Expo '92, it is an educational, scientific and cultural centre. Its mission is to educate and raise public awareness as regards conservation, management and responsible use of aquatic environments. It welcomes over 1.2 million visitors a year.
Many types of Marine life can be seen at the Aquarium of Genoa, and some of these will be used as a recurring theme throughout this edition.
The Oceans of the world are home to the greatest variety of life on earth. Some live permanently in the oceans, and others are only temporary visitors. Not only fish, but also mammals, birds. and reptiles can be found in the oceans. But these are still dwarfed by the sheer numbers of invertebrates, like molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, sponges, corals, starfish and anemones, and down to the smallest lifeforms like zooplankton, phytoplankton and diatoms. The oceans are the source of all life on earth, and the starting point of all food chains on earth.
Our venue for this edition is the Arena del Mare in Genoa.
The arena del Mare is an open-air square by the sea which, during the summer , transforms into an open-air theatre, a spectacular stage for large events. With a capacity of up to 5250 people, it is suitable for concerts of international importance , for unforgettable musical evenings, or it can be transformed into an evocative open-air theater seating around 1260 people for more sophisticated shows such as operas, ballets and symphony concerts.
Let me introduce our gracious hosts for this edition: Please welcome Annalisa, Stefano de Martino and Alessia Marcuzzi.
Annalisa Scarrone (born 5 August 1985 in Savona), better known as simply Annalisa or Nali, is an Italian singer-songwriter and record producer. She became famous after participating in the tenth edition of the talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi in 2010–2011, where she finished in second place. She has sompeted multiple times in the Sanremo Music Festival: in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, and most recently in 2024 with Sinceramente. In 2023, she topped the Italian singles chart for the first time with the song "Mon amour", becoming the first female soloist to do so in over three years. She has released 8 albums and 34 singles as a solo artist, receiving 38 platinum and 13 gold certifications and selling over 3.4 million copies in Italy, becoming the Italian female artist with most copies sold. Throughout her career she has received several awards including a Global Force Award, the first award given at the Billboard Women in Music 2024 for an Italian artist, an MTV Europe Music Award, a Wind Music Award and a Lutezia Award for her songwriting, as well as nominations at the Kid's Choice Award and World Music Awards. In 2023 Forbes Italia listed Annalisa among "the 100 successful women in Italy" of the year.
Alessia Marcuzzi (born 11 November 1972 in Rome) is an Italian television host, actress and former fashion model. She started working in Mediaset from November 1995 hosting the Italia 1 Saturday afternoon program Colpo di fulmine, until June 1997. In this period she started hosting the well-known music festival Festivalbar, from 1996 to 2002, with whom she won a Telegatto in 2001. In 2002 and 2003 she presented the Telegatto's awards and, in 2003 too, the Galà della pubblicità, with Heidi Klum. After hosting an edition of Scherzi a parte in 2005, in 2006 has replaced Barbara D'Urso presenting the Italian version of Big Brother, Grande Fratello, that she finished hosting in 2015. Her credits also include performances in various films and television, with starring roles in Leonardo Pieraccioni's 1998 feature film Il mio West, as well as the TV shows Tequila and Bonetti (2000) and Carabinieri.
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