Sanremo 2026: Ditonellapiaga and TonyPitony Win the Festival's Fourth Night

The fourth night of the Sanremo festival, traditionally dedicated to reinterpretations of classic Italian and world music, ended with the triumph of Ditonellapiaga and the mysterious artist performing under the pseudonym TonyPitony. Their interpretation received the highest acclaim from jurors and TV viewers, beating Sayfa and third-placed Arisa in the ranking. Despite the musical success of the winners, media attention largely focused on incidents of a social and interpersonal nature, which sparked a wave of comments on social media. Reinterpretations of famous hits became the backdrop for accusations against the public broadcaster RAI of deliberately avoiding showing gestures of affection between people of the same sex during the live broadcast. The most controversy was stirred by the director's work during the performance of Levante and Gaia, who exchanged a kiss while performing the song „I maschi”. At this key moment, the camera abruptly switched to a wide shot, which was interpreted as an attempt to hide the gesture from the conservative part of the audience. Emotions were further heated by tensions between artists. Gianluca Grignani directed a sarcastic remark from the stage towards Laura Pausini, who was present at the festival, which the Italian press called a „diss”. Meanwhile, Alessandro Gassmann, a well-known actor and father of festival participant Leo Gassmann, reacted sharply to comments about nepotism in response to the numerous family performances that evening, which became the main theme of the festival's fourth installment. The Sanremo Italian Song Festival, held since 1951 at the Ariston Theatre, is not only the most important musical event in Italy but also a platform for social debate, often setting cultural standards in the country. A touching point of the program was the performance of Gianni Morandi with his son, Tredici Pietro, who together performed the song „Vita”. Their performance received high marks in journalistic rankings, achieving a score of 9 on a 10-point scale. Veteran performer Patty Pravo was less fortunate, as her performance was harshly judged by critics and considered one of the weakest points of the evening. The show was spiced up by Belén Rodriguez, appearing on stage in a jeweled garter alongside Samurai Jay. The covers evening is traditionally seen as a test of vocal skills and creativity, and its results have a significant impact on the final general classification ahead of the grand finale, for which preparations and setting the starting order began immediately after the announcement of the night's voting results.„Come sono andato?” (How did I do?) — Gianni Morandi

Perspektywy mediów: Liberal media emphasize accusations of LGBT kiss censorship, seeing it as a restriction of artistic freedom and political influence on RAI television. Conservative press focuses on the musical level of the covers and celebrates a return to family values through joint performances of fathers with their children.