Emma Marrone wins Sanremo festival

The Florentine singer Emma Marrone won the 62nd Festival di Sanremo, Italy's oldest and most prestigious song festival.

Her song 'Non e l'inferno' earned her the jury prize and the biggest number of viewers' votes on the Italian Rai 1 TV channel.

The 27-year-old has recorded three albums during her singing career.

Meanwhile, the RAI committee for Eurovision 2012 has decided on Nina Zilli to represent Italy in Baku. Nina won the internal selection for Eurovision.

But this year's Sanremo festival started off with much controversy after guest star Adriano Celentano gave a long monologue in which he said two top Catholic publications should be closed.

The opening night was also hit by hitches, with one of the presenters unable to appear because of neck pains, while the system for TV viewers to vote on contestants was blocked by a technical problem.

Undoubtedly, Belen Rodriguez appearance on the opening night of the Italian festival will remain one of the most memorable events of this year's contest.