FORCOLI, Italy ? Forget those pencil-thin model types. Italy has chosen a full-figured woman as new beauty queen, proud of her ample body weighing in at a hefty 170 kilos (
375 pounds).
Angela Scognamiglio said she was
"very moved" when she was named Saturday night as the new "Miss Chubby" at the complex-free contest held in the Tuscany village of Forcoli, near the city of Pisa.
"I am very moved, I feel as if I've won the lottery," the 33-year-old from Naples said after beating out 30 other contestants for the title.
As in all past 20 editions of the pageant, there is only one condition for entry: you have to
weigh more than 100 kilograms, or 15 and a half stone.
Contestants paraded before an audience of 2,500 at a local hotel on Saturday night, wearing gowns, or for those who cared to show more, undergarments. Some even dared a little
glamour striptease.
But the crucial moment in the contest was the weigh-in, stepping onto a huge red scale where everyone could see the result -- with the roundest beauty clinching the title.
No big prize for the winner, just a huge cake to share around, and perhaps for all the contestants a boost in self-esteem in contrast to the mockery many obese face.
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