Iva Zanicchi (Ligonchio, January 18, 1940) is an Italian singer, actress, TV host and former politician.

A singer endowed with great drive and passion, with an almost tenor-like vocal timbre and able to range between the most diverse musical genres, from blues to melodic music (also committed), passing through pop music and songs dedicated to children, in 1970 she was defined by Alighiero Noschese as “the thumb of Italian song,” that is, one of the most important Italian musical personalities, together with Mina, Ornella Vanoni, Patty Pravo and Milva.

Nicknamed the Eagle of Ligonchio and referred to by some insiders as Italy’s Amália Rodrigues, she was part of the trio of great female voices of the 1960s and 1970s, with Mina,“la tigre di Cremona” and Milva, “la pantera di Goro” has performed in some of the most important international theaters, such as Madison Square Garden in New York, Olympia in Paris, Teatro Regio in Parma, and the Sydney Opera House, she entered the record charts in a variety of countries, and held long tours in almost all over the world: United States of America, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Turkey, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Japan, Greece, Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Malta, Romania and Czechoslovakia.

For her many have written, among others, Cristiano Malgioglio, Franco Califano, Paolo Conte, Lucio Battisti, Roberto Vecchioni, Mogol, Umberto Balsamo, Umberto Bindi, Shel Shapiro, Giuni Russo, Donatella Rettore, Zucchero Fornaciari, Pino Donaggio, Mariella Nava, Tiziano Ferro and Avion Travel.

Out of ten appearances at the Sanremo Festival, she managed to win three times (1967, 1969, 1974), becoming the female singer to have won the event the most times.

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