Franco Battiato, the musical genius who became a household name in the late seventies and early eighties, died on Tuesday at 76 years of age, at his house, a castle located in the small hamlet of Milo in Sicily. Born on March 23, 1945, he burst on the Italian music scene with songs like Bandiera Bianca, Centro di Gravità Permanente and Voglio Vederti Danzare, and composing Per Elisa for his friend, the singer Alice, which won the 1981 San Remo music festival. He also collaborated with the late Giuni Russo which resulted in the huge success of the 1981 summer anthem, Un Estate al Mare. A staunch vegetarian, Battiato was a very proficient artist, equally comfortable in exploring classical and experimental musical forms as well as indulging his love for the popular Italian music scene with instant classics that were the soundtrack of Italian life during the late seventies and early eighties. During the nineties, he collaborated with Sicilian philosopher, Manlio Sgalambro, to write the poignant masterpiece La Cura. This artistic collaboration also resulted in the production of what many consider as Battiato’s most eloquent work, his 1998 album, Gommalacca, which found the artist...