Legend has it that in Kalsa, Palermo's Arab quarter, there lived a beautiful young woman who spent her days tending the flowers she grew in her garden. One day, a young Moor noticed her tending to his plants and fell madly in love, immediately declaring his love; the young woman, struck by his boldness, returned his feelings.

Unfortunately, the young soldier was already married, and as soon as our Sicilian Judith learned that her beloved was returning to his bride in the East, she waited until nightfall and cut off his head, turning it into a "grasta," a pot in which she planted basil, displaying it on the balcony. The plant, watered with her tears, grew lush, and the neighborhood residents, not to be outdone, had terracotta pots made in the shape of "Moor's heads."