Il Moro e la Siciliana

Depicting the face of a Sicilian maiden and a Muslim Moor.
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Anyone visiting the villages of our island has come across the so-called Sicilian Moorhead.
Well, it is rumoured that their existence stems from a story of passion and jealousy that took place around the year 1000, during the 75 years of Muslim rule in Sicily.

Here is the story masterfully summarised by Viviana Guglielmino:
In the Arab quarter Kalsa (in the heart of Palermo) lived a beautiful maiden who spent her days tending her plants. One day, from the height of her lush balcony, she was noticed by a Moor who was passing by.

Questo, non appena la vide, se ne invaghì immediatamente e non esitò un attimo a dichiarargli il suo amore. La ragazza, colpita da tale dichiarazione, ricambiò con passione il sentimento del Moro, ma la loro storia iniziata con tanto ardore era destinata a una vita breve. Ben presto la giovane scoprì che il suo amato doveva fare ritorno in Oriente dove ad attenderlo c’erano moglie e figli.

Nel cuore della notte, sentitasi tradita e umiliata, la ragazza si abbandonò a un momento di gelosia e ira funesta uccidendo il suo Moro mentre stava dormendo. She then cut off its head and created a sort of pot in which she planted a basil sprout and took care of it day by day. The basil plant grew luxuriant