It is a collection of re-recordings of De André's early singles, previously issued on the Karim label.

All tracks are written by Fabrizio De André, except where noted[notes 1]"Bocca di Rosa" was re-recorded with different lyrics for the first reissue of the album.

The fictional town of Sant'Ilario, named after an actual suburb of Genoa, was renamed "San Vicario".

Also, after "polite pressures from the corps of Carabinieri", a line was taken out of the lyrics which criticized the law enforcement corps (with explicit mention of the Carabinieri).

The original version was included in the posthumous 2005 compilation album In direzione ostinata e contraria.