Literature · Premium
The pot of basil and Lisabetta's broken heart
In Messina in the 1300s, a young woman named Lisabetta falls secretly in love with Lorenzo, a young servant of her wealthy merchant brothers. When the brothers discover the relationship, they kill Lorenzo and bury him in a forest. Lorenzo's ghost appears to Lisabetta in a dream, revealing who killed him and showing her where to find his body. She finds him, cuts off his head, and hides it in a terracotta pot, covering it with soil and planting basil. She waters the plant with her tears day and night; the basil grows lush, nourished by the decomposing head. The brothers, suspicious, take the pot from her, discover Lorenzo's head, and bury it elsewhere. Then they flee to Naples, taking Lisabetta with them, and she soon dies of grief. The story is a hymn to love that is stronger than death, and to the transformation of pain into beauty.
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