Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Grande amore " , written by Ciro Esposito and Francesco Boccia . The song was performed by the male operatic pop trio Il Volo . Italian broadcaster RAI announced in September 2014 that the winning performer ( s ) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2015 would have the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna , Austria . The selected performer would also be given the right to choose their own song to compete with at Eurovision . In February 2015 , Il Volo emerged as the winners of Sanremo with the song " Grande amore " . The trio accepted the invitation to represent Italy at Eurovision and decided that " Grande amore " would be their contest entry . As a member of the " Big 5 " ( France , Germany , Italy , Spain and the United Kingdom ) , Italy competed directly in the final on 23 May 2015 and did not have to qualify from one of two semi-finals held on 19 May and 21 May . However , Italy was obligated to vote in the second semi-final . In Italy 's forty-second Eurovision appearance on 23 May , " Grande amore " finished in third place out of 27 competing songs , receiving 292 points and full marks from nine countries
Sanremo Music Festival 2015
Sanremo Music Festival 2015
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015