Moor's Head

The "Moor's Head": a Story of Love, Jealousy and Revenge behind an Icon of Sicily

The Testa di Moro is a characteristic object of the Sicilian tradition. It is a hand painted ceramic vase used as an ornament that depicts the face of a Moor and sometimes a good-looking young woman. An interesting legend is hidden behind this famous object...

It is said that around the year 1000, in the midst of the domination of the Moors in Sicily, in the Arab quarter of Palermo "Al Hàlisah" (which means the pure or the chosen one) today called Kalsa, a beautiful girl lived her days in a sweet as solitary quiet, dedicating his attention to the loving care of the plants on his balcony. From the top of her flowery balcony, she was one day noticed by a young man, a Moor. Overwhelmed by a violent passion for her, the young Moro didn't hesitate for a moment to declare his love for her. Yet the young man, who had not had any scruple in abandoning himself to the sweetest love profusions, hid a burdensome secret in his heart: his wife and children were in fact waiting for him in the East, in that land to which he was now to return. Wounded in pride and betrayed by what she believed to be her great love, the girl planned her revenge. So in the night, while her Moro slept helplessly, she killed him and cut off his head so that her beloved not only could never return to that family, but would remain with her forever. She decided that the face of that young man, dear to her, should have remained by her side forever, and with her head she created an object similar to a vase where she placed a basil sprout inside, a plant linked to a symbology divine and always associated with sacredness. Finally he laid his head on his balcony, dedicating every day to the care of the basil that grew there. Every day the young girl's tears wet the royal plant, which prospered and grew, becoming more and more florid and luxuriant. The neighbors, pervaded by the scent of basil and enviously watching the plant that vigorously matured in that particular vase in the shape of a Moor's Head, had terracotta vases made that reproduced the same features as the one lovingly kept by the girl. Today every Testa di Moro that is produced bears a crown, an ever-present element aimed at re-proposing the royal plant that originally embellished the head of the young Moro protagonist of the sad story.