Marco Mengoni represented Italy with the song "L'essenziale", which placed 7th and scored 126 points in the final.

On 24 January 2013, Italian broadcaster RAI confirmed that the performer that would represent Italy at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest would be selected by a special committee from the competing artists at the Sanremo Music Festival 2013.

[4] During the Italian delegation's press conference on 15 May, Italy was allocated to perform in the second half of the final.

[5] In the final, the producers of the show decided that Italy would perform 23rd, following Ukraine and preceding Norway.

[8][9] The national jury that provided 50% of the Italian vote in the first semi-final and the final consisted of five journalists: Paolo Giordano, Gianni Sibilla, Luca Dondoni, Fabrizio Basso and Luigi Bolognini.