Lascia o raddoppia? ("Leave it or double it?")<ref name="tvguide">Lo Bello, Non. (1963, 13–19 April). Rhubarb Every Thursday: Here's why Italian TV would rather bring back the bubonic plague than its own version of 'The 64,000 Question'''. TV GUIDE, pp 8–11</ref> is a game show that aired on Italian television from 1955 to 1959, considered the Italian version of The $64,000 Question. It was hosted by Mike Bongiorno with Edy Campagnoli as valletta (assistant). Contestants were asked a series of questions on a particular subject that, if answered correctly, would advance them to a prize of Lit. 2,560,000 (about US$4,000 in 1959). The contestant could then stop and walk away with that amount or take a chance on another question with the possibility of doubling their winnings to Lit. 5,120,000 (just over US$8,000 in 1959). Controversies Since the programme aired on state-run RAI, the prize money came from the State treasury, making programme officials particularly sensitive to viewer reaction. Contestants became overnight celebrities and received a high amount of coverage in the Italian press. Most received an average of 2,000 letters each week they were on the show. Maria Luisa Garoppo, a 23-year-old contestant from North Italy who was quite knowledgeable about Greek drama, scandalized many newspaper editors by wearing a tight red dress that accentuated her 45-inch bust and 19-inch waistline. Garoppo responded to her fashion critics by saying "It's not my fault if God constructed me unlike a telephone pole". The programme coordinator subsequently paid her the prize money but removed her as a contestant, telling viewers she was "under doctor's care for emotional shock". Paola Bolognani, an 18-year-old philosophy student, was known as "the Marilyn Monroe of Italian soccer" for her knowledge of the game. While she was a contestant, her photo appeared on 22 magazine covers and she received more than 20,000 letters, including 3,500 that were marriage proposals. Bolognani eventually won the top prize by tackling a tough three-part question on soccer, but while she was a contestant a newspaper published an article revealing that she had been an illegitimate child. Famous fans of the program Pope Pius XII was known to be a great fan of Lascia o raddoppia?''. Exiled Egyptian King Farouk gave $4,000 to Marisa Zocchi, a 19-year-old contestant who said she would use her winnings to hire a full-time nurse for her sick mother. Zocchi, who had held the title of Miss