The Legend of the Moor's Head

In Italy we love to tell stories, sure you have seen at least once these beautiful ceramic vase, so here is “The legend of the Moor’s head”

An ancient legend tells that around the year 1100, during the period of Arab dominance in Sicily, "a beautiful girl with rosy skin comparable to peach blossoms at the height of flowering and a wonderful pair of eyes that seemed to reflect the beautiful Gulf of Palermo" lived in the Kalsa district of Palermo.

The girl was almost always at home and spent her days tending to her balcony plants. One day, a young Moro happened to pass by, and as soon as he saw her, he fell in love with her and decided to have her at any cost. Then he went straight into the girl's house and declared his love. The girl, overcome with passion, returned the young Moro's love, but her happiness was close to the end when she learned that her beloved would soon leave her to return to the East, where a wife and two sons awaited him.

So the girl waited for the night, and as soon as Moro fell asleep, he killed him and cut off his head. She fashioned a vase out of the Moro's head, planted some basil in it, and displayed it on the balcony. In this way, unable to leave, the Moor would have remained with her forever. Meanwhile, the basil grew lushly, much to the envy of the entire neighborhood, who built terra-cotta pots in the shape of a Moor's Head to try and copy her. Even today, on the balconies, you can admire Teste di Moro, also known as "Teste di Turco”.