Halfway through the album sessions, responding to Pagani's repeated concerns that the lyrics would be incomprehensible outside of Genoa,[3] De André reassured his friend by telling him that his music was so good that even Sicilians would get the meaning of the songs without understanding a single word.

With the notable exceptions of "Jamin-a", inspired by De André and Pagani's then-recent trips to Africa and the Middle East, and "Sidún", focusing on the 1982 Lebanon war, all songs are about Genoa.

In particular: The album cover, seen by Italian music reviewers at the time as simultaneously attractive and mysterious, was later revealed by Pagani to be a photo of a house in Greece, shot by American photographer Jay Maisel and chosen by Pagani himself in keeping with the album's overall Mediterranean theme.

In 2014, for its 30th anniversary, the album was thoroughly remixed by Pagani, who went back to the original tapes and, after "de-mastering" them (i.e. removing all layers of digital remastering made over the years, in order to obtain flat transfers), mixed all the songs anew, bringing out previously obscured details.

Disc 1 includes the remixed album, a previously unreleased version of "Jamin-a" (faster than the original, in a higher key, with a deliberately strained vocal by De André [also double-tracked on the final repeated verse], featuring prominent drums and no percussion) and three alternate mixes of "Sinàn Capudàn Pascià", "Â duménega" and the title track.