The news arrived live, and she herself struggled to believe it: Giorgia Cardinaletti, historical face of the 8pm edition of TG1, will join Carlo Conti and Laura Pausini on the final evening of the 2026 Sanremo Festival, Saturday 28 February, the one that will award the victory. The invitation, made in a completely unexpected way by the artistic director during a television broadcast, took the journalist by surprise. His first reaction? Ask if it was a serious hypothesis. Having received confirmation, she enthusiastically accepted — and now the most urgent challenge is “finding the right dress”.
Those who know Cardinaletti know that she will be ready, even with little time available. Furthermore, he already has a consolidated relationship with Sanremo: in 2020, during the Festival hosted by Amadeus, he curated Inside the Festivalthe in-depth space on RaiPlay dedicated to post-evening press conferences. All that was missing was the Ariston stage — and now it will be there.
In doing so, it fits into a very specific tradition: that of the Rai journalists called to descend the famous staircase. Before her, in 2020, it was the turn of Emma D’Aquino and Laura Chimenti; in 2021 it was the turn of Giovanna Botteri, historic foreign correspondent; in 2023 Francesca Fagnani arrived, known to the general public for her uncomfortable interviews Beasts.
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A career built step by step
Born in the Marche region of Fabriano, born in 1987, Cardinaletti has built her professionalism on solid foundations. After graduating in Literature in Perugia and training at the School of Radio and Television Journalism in the same Umbrian capital, she entered the world of information as a professional in 2012, making her debut in Rai as a correspondent for Rai News 24. It was here that she refined her ability to manage complex live broadcasts and news in real time.
2016 marks an important turning point: Giorgia approaches sports journalism, following Formula 1 from the paddocks and hosting Pole Positionbefore inheriting one of the most beloved events on Italian Sunday television — Sports Sunday — a role he maintained until 2019. That year came the move to TG1, where he quickly climbed the hierarchies: from the night-time editions and the 60-second flashes, up to the hosting of the 8pm edition, the most followed news program in Italy, obtained in 2022.
Private life: after Cremonini, a new beginning
On the personal front, Cardinaletti has always maintained a discreet profile, despite ending up in the crosshairs of gossip. After the relationship with her colleague Francesco Caldarola, she lived a relationship with the Bolognese singer-songwriter Cesare Cremonini, which began in 2022 and ended in the first half of 2024.
Cremonini himself, in a recent interview, spoke of that bond as something profoundly significant, while confirming its end.
According to the latest rumours, today the journalist would have found serenity next to Francesco Bechis, parliamentary reporter of the Messenger and son of the director of OpenFranco Bechis. The couple would have been spotted together at the Graldi Prize, the first public sign of a relationship born among the corridors of Roman journalism.
