Politics is a show, and every country has its favorite. The United States is bringing on yet another Hollywood classic (the aging action hero, the desert, the border, the money). France is offering its periodic re-enactment of its Revolution, with gilets jaunes replacing sans-culottes. Germany’s national orchestra is saying goodbye to an exhausted chancellor/conductor. Britain is deep into a Shakespearean tragedy of its own creation: to leave or not to leave Europe…?

And what about Italy? It’s a music festival, of course. The Italian Song Festival (Festival della Canzone Italiana) is held annually in Sanremo, a quaint seaside resort near the French border, and is by far the most popular television event of the year. This year it will be broadcast live between Feb. 5 and Feb. 9.