Legend is that around year 1000, when Sicily was under Arab domination, in the Kalsa district of Palermo a stunning young woman used to spend her time growing plants and flowers on her balcony. One day a dashing Moor man passed by her balcony and when their eyes met they suddenly fell in love with each other. One day, however, the man confessed he had to leave Sicily to return to his homeland to care for his wife and children. The young woman was desperate and thought of a way to make him stay with her forever. While the Moor slept, she decapitated him and made a vase out his head, which put on her balcony and planted basil seed in it. Every day she cried and watered the plant with her tears, the basil grew so strong and beautiful that when the neighbors took notice, they asked ceramic artisans to make terracotta vases resembling the Moor’s appearance to grow plants themselves.