Last year, I downloaded a collection of music from various Italian soundtracks ripped directly from video source. The track that made the biggest impression on me was Angelo F. Lavagnino's (1909-87) heavenly sweet score to Tonino Cervi's 1970 film LE REGINE (QUEENS OF EVIL). Is anyone familiar with other significant scores by this composer? He seems to have had his own special sound going. Checking MovieGrooves, they only have two of his scores, REQUIEM FÜR DJANGO and a sci-fi quadrilogy. Of his 200 scores, many seem to be pepla, spy and war movies. The IMDb also lists the Bava related THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN, ESTHER AND THE KING and LE AVVENTURE DI GIACOMO CASANOVA, none of which I have seen.

Now I see that he also did OTHELLO and CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT for Orson Welles. I saw the latter on the big screen in 2005, but I don't remember the music.

The sci-fi "quadrilogy" is Lavagnino's music for Antonio Margheriti's Gamma I films, and it too is "heavenly." Though it's not on CD, I remember well the warm, heart-rending theme he wrote for the mother and child reunion in GORGO.

Lavagnino is probably my second favorite Italian composer (after Morricone). Looking over his list of credits on IMDB, these are the scores I remember liking a lot:

Legend of the Lost
The Naked Maja
Conspiracy of Hearts
Esther and the King
Goliath and the Vampires
Gorgo
Imperial Venus

I've seen several others on the list (long, long ago) but don't recall the music.
He wasn't exactly Morricone-prolific, but he came close (17 scores in one year--1965).

OK, thanks for these recommendations.

By the way, I was happy to find DigitMovies' ERCOLE AL CENTRO DELLA TERRA in the mail today. Listening to it right now.