The scientific objective of this proposal is to study the physical
 and chemical properties of the dust grains associated with the
 Galactic cirrus. The combination of ISO and ground-based observations
 will allow us to obtain the FIR and submillimetric spectral
 energy distributions for a sample of high-latitude Galactic clouds
 which have an IR excess. Their spectral behaviour contains important
 information about the different dust components, the dust column
 density and the chemical and morphological properties of the particles.
 On the other hand, recent studies of laboratory cosmic analogs
 provide a fundamental support for the proposed ISO observations.
 In order to perform a comparative analysis between ISO observations,
 ground-based observations and laboratory results, the Laboratorio di
 Fisica Cosmica of Naples submits this proposal in collaboration with
 Nasa Ames Research Centers