Fisiognomica is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Franco Battiato

Franco Battiato

Francesco Battiato is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes...

, released by EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 Music Italian in 1988. It sold 300,000 copies in Italy.

The cover features a photo of Battiato as an adolescent, when still living in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. "L'Oceano di Silenzio" is an operatic song containing German text from Fleur Jaeggy

Fleur Jaeggy

Fleur Jaeggy is a Swiss writer, of Italian mother tongue.-Life:After completing her studies in Switzerland, Jaeggy went to live in Rome, where she met Ingeborg Bachmann and Thomas Bernhard. In 1968 she went to Milan to work for the publisher Adelphi Edizioni, and married Roberto Calasso. Her first...

's Wasserstatuen. "Veni l'autunnu" ("The Autumn Comes" in Sicilian) contains text both in Arabic and Sicilian, and his devoted to Battiato's homeland (which is also the inspiration of "Secondo imbrunire", meaning "Second Dusk"). Arabic lyrics are also contained in "Zai Saman". The title track is inspired to physiognomy

Physiognomy

Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...

 theories.

"Nomadi" was written by Battiato's friend and 1970s collaborator Juri Camisasca, after his retirement in a Benedictine monastery. It was originally sung by Alice

Alice (Italian singer)

Alice , also known as Alice Visconti is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist, active since 1971...

 in her album Park Hotel

Park Hotel (Alice album)

Park Hotel is the eighth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in late 1986 on EMI Music.The album was recorded with a four-piece band consisting of Italian keyboardist Michele Fedrigotti plus three internationally acclaimed musicians: American bassist Tony Levin , American...

(1986).

Track listing

1. "Fisiognomica"
2. "E ti vengo a cercare"
3. "Veni l'autunnu"
4. "Secondo imbrunire"
5. "Nomadi"
6. "Zai Saman"
7. "Il mito dell'amore"
8. "L'Oceano di Silenzio" - (from Fleur Jaeggy
   Fleur Jaeggy
   Fleur Jaeggy is a Swiss writer, of Italian mother tongue.-Life:After completing her studies in Switzerland, Jaeggy went to live in Rome, where she met Ingeborg Bachmann and Thomas Bernhard. In 1968 she went to Milan to work for the publisher Adelphi Edizioni, and married Roberto Calasso. Her first...
   
   's Wasserstatuen)