Any Sicilian, walking through the streets of his city or town, will have come across at least once in his life the Moor's Heads, that is, those ornamental hand-painted ceramic vases depicting the faces of a man and a woman. These vases, emblems of Sicilian culture and art, are born from a surprising legend. It is said that around
in the year 1000, during the Moorish domination in Sicily, in the Arab quarter of Kalsa (in the heart of Palermo), there lived a beautiful young girl who spent her days taking care of her plants. One day, from the top of her lush balcony, she was noticed by a Moor who was passing by. As soon as he saw her, he immediately fell in love with her and did not hesitate for a moment to declare his love to him. The girl, struck by this declaration, passionately reciprocated the Moor's feelings, but their story, which had begun with such ardour, was destined to last a short time and end in tragedy. The young girl soon discovered that her beloved had to return to the East where his wife and children were waiting for him. In the middle of the night, feeling betrayed and humiliated, the girl gave in to a moment of jealousy and fatal rage, killing her Moor while he was sleeping. He then cut off its head and created a sort of vase in which he planted a basil shoot that he took care of every single day. Thanks to its intoxicating scent, the basil plant aroused the envy of the neighbors
of the girl who wasted no time in making terracotta vases with the same features as the Moor's Head. Today the Moor's Heads are almost always reproduced in pairs.
The Island of Dreams: The Myth Comes to Life
