Sal Da Vinci won Sanremo Festival 2026 And here is the recap of the last evening of the 76th edition of the kermesse
The Sanremo Festival 2026 has come to an end. The overall feeling is that Carlo Conti simply got through a heavy assignment he couldn’t wait to wrap up. This edition felt textbook and philological, entirely driven by easy nostalgia and a general instinct for preservation. The controversies were few and faint, also because the host and artistic director neither fueled nor really commented on them. On Monday, he’ll likely reflect on the work done with relief from a beach in the Maldives or somewhere similar, untouched and unbothered by the fact that, for many, this was one of the most timid and insignificant editions in recent years.
What happened during the Sanremo final night
Giorgia Cardinaletti is a touch of professionalism in a sea of banality. The evening opens, in fact, with a disclaimer about war and children. It’s a theme that has run throughout the week, yet no one ever specifies who is killing whom or who is bombing what, of course. It feels like listening to a lineup of Miss Italy contestants all wishing for world peace. Then, however, Andrea Bocelli arrives on horseback, on a white horse named Caudillo, an epithet associated with General Francisco Franco and a term used to describe the head of an authoritarian regime. Not great.
By this point, all the songs are catchy in a somewhat perverse way. It’s the Sanremo effect mixed with sleep deprivation, and the karaoke kicks off even with Francesco Renga and Leo Gassman. The trajectory of Sal Da Vinci is particularly beautiful, recalling the pre-modernization and pre-meme era of the Festival before Amadeus. An artist once considered somewhat peripheral explodes onto the scene, realizes the affection pouring over him and the space he occupies in people’s hearts, and is moved to tears. We love Sal Da Vinci, who carries the true Sanremo spirit forward. Just like the Pooh, frozen on the outdoor stage performing Uomini Soli.
Stefano De Martino will be host and artistic director of Sanremo 2027
The real news of the night, however, is outside the competition. Stefano De Martino, beloved host of Affari Tuoi and a favorite among TV audiences, will serve as host and artistic director of Sanremo 2027. A choice that could go in any direction, and one that was half-expected. The artistic direction, in fact, was thought likely to go to someone else, perhaps a lesser-known public figure with strong authority in the music and television fields. It’s both a gamble and an investment, a trial by fire that could mark De Martino’s definitive ascent into the Olympus of Rai presenters. We’ll see.
