Satellite
Show on map
  • Day 82

    A subtle warning to all husbands!

    January 17, 2019 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    The Moors dominated Sicily around the year 1100.
    At that time, there lived in the Kalsa district of Palermo 'a beautiful girl with pink skin comparable to peach blossoms at the height of flowering and a nice pair of eyes that seemed to reflect the beautiful Gulf of Palermo '. The young girl was almost always at home.
    One day a young Moor passing by saw the gorgeous damsel taking care of the plants on her balcony. In an instant he was smitten and, filled with desire, he knew he must have her at any cost. Without a second's delay he entered the girl's house and immediately declared his love. The girl, struck by the passion with which he declared his ardour, returned his love in full; and they lived together as happy as happy can be.
    Alas, some time later, the Moor came to tell her that he must leave Sicily and return home to the East, where a wife with two sons awaited him.
    Surprised, hurt and above all furious as only a betrayed Sicilian can be, she plotted to make him stay with her.
    That night, she cooked him a nice dinner and later as soon as he fell asleep she struck off his head and made it into a flower pot. The she planted some basil in it and stuck the vase on the balcony for all to see. Thus the Moor would never be able to leave and would remain with her - forever.
    Meanwhile, the basil grew lush and aroused the envy of all the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, who, not to be outdone, made imitations of the Moor's head in terracotta.
    And to this day on Sicilian balconies you can admire the "Heads of Moro", sometimes called "Turk's heads", although now they exist in different versions, representing three of the subsequent empires which ruled over Sicily, the Byzantines, the Arabs and Normans.
    Read more