Gigliola Cinquetti

“The popularity is shocking, as was the [Sanremo] festival with its circus.”

“I sang with the simplicity of a sixteen-year-old girl whose mind is uncluttered by prejudices. I never had any, I'm not a conformist.”

“[On Domenico Modugno] He got really angry when I won [the Sanremo Festival] with "Non ho l'età" in 1964. He went there to win, not to participate. When he wrote "Dio, come ti amo" (Dio, come ti amo), he thought about pairing with me ("that way I'd neutralize her"). It worked, despite the sabotage from the record companies.”

“[On joining the Radical Party] I joined not so much out of organic membership, but in response to a plea from the Radical Party, which was struggling to survive. I did it out of gratitude. I didn't vote for them; I was a socialist. I did it so that a party that had brought divorce and abortion to Italians wouldn't die.”