Il Volo Wins Sanremo 2015 with 'Grande Amore' Amid Criticism

The 2015 Sanremo Music Festival, hosted by Carlo Conti, awarded first place to Il Volo, a trio of young tenors—Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, and Gianluca Ginoble—for their song 'Grande Amore.' The victory sparked criticism from art critic Helga Marsala, writing for Artribune, who described the win as predictable and the song as clichéd, retrograde, and overly sentimental. Marsala argued that Sanremo traditionally rewards the most accessible, less refined entry, and this year's choice epitomized a stale, mannered version of Italian cultural identity. The music video, directed by 34-year-old Mauro Russo, was shot in a villa near Milan and features reinterpretations of scenes from Ghost, Back to the Future, and Spider-Man, with the trio sharing passionate kisses with three women. Marsala noted that despite its lack of innovation, the song is catchy and likely to appeal to a broad audience, particularly in Latin America. The article reflects on Sanremo's enduring role as a unifying, democratic ritual in Italian culture, now amplified by social media. Helga Marsala, an art critic and curator who has taught at the Accademy of Fine Arts in Palermo and Rome, contributed the piece.