 After another attempt to win the title the following year, she decided to return to Italy where she entered the Miss Italia pageant.Her election as Miss Italia on 7 September 1996 in the Italian town of Salsomaggiore caused a minor scandal throughout that nation.It was the first time that a woman of non-Italian ancestry was elected to represent the country in an international beauty pageant and some Italian citizens saw it as a wake-up call for Italy to close its borders to further immigration.