) is the winner of the Miss Universo Italia 2009

Miss Universo Italia 2009

The Miss Universo Italia 2009 pageant was held on May 27, 2009. The winner was Laura Valenti, who went on to represent Italy at Miss Universe 2009, which took place in the Bahamas on August 23, 2009...

 pageant that was held at the Palariccione in Riccione

Riccione

Riccione is a comune in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. As of 2007 Riccione had an estimated population of 34,868.-History:...

, Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

 on May 24, 2009. She represented Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 at the Miss Universe 2009

Miss Universe 2009

Miss Universe 2009, the 58th Miss Universe pageant, was held at the Atlantis Paradise Island, in Nassau, Bahamas on August 23, 2009. It was the first time back to back victories in Miss Universe history: Stefanía Fernández of Venezuela, was crowned Miss Universe 2009 by outgoing titleholder Dayana...

 pageant at the Atlantis Paradise Island

Atlantis Paradise Island

The Atlantis Paradise Island is a resort and waterpark located on Paradise Island, The Bahamas. Officially opened in 1998, the resort was created by South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner and Kerzner International Limited. Paradise Island first opened its Coral and Beach Towers as the Trump...

, in Nassau

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...

, Bahamas on August 23. Despite a very strong showing during the preliminary competition, she failed to place among the semifinalists. Had she advanced, it would've marked only the fifth time that two Italian delegates managed to make the first cut back to back: in 2008, Claudia Ferraris

Claudia Ferraris

Claudia Ferraris is the winner of the Miss Universo Italia 2008 pageant that was held at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Riccione, Emilia-Romagna on May 31, 2008. She represented Italy at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant in Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14. She placed in the top 10, ranking 9th at the end...

 had ended up 9th at the end of the competition. It only happened in 1953/54, 1956/57, 1963/64 and 1982/83.

Laura stands 5 ft 9 in (1.75m) and she's 25. She's a model and a professional dancer. She practiced rhythmic gymnastic competitively from 1994 to 1997 and was subsequently accepted into the ballet company at the prestigious and world-renown Teatro alla Scala in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, taking part in the productions of the Swan Lake

Swan Lake

Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...

, The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

, Giselle

Giselle

Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...

, Carmen

Carmen

Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...

, La Sylphide

La Sylphide

La Sylphide is one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets. There were two versions of the ballet; the version choreographed by the Danish balletmaster August Bournonville is the only version known to have survived....

, Rigoletto

Rigoletto

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...

 and Cinderella

Cinderella

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...

 among others. As a model, she's taken part in campaigns for Swarovski

Swarovski

Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...

and will be the face for an upcoming ad campaign for Coin, a famous Italian luxury goods department store.