WARNING! Spoilers ahead for The White Lotus season 2, episode 1, "Ciao."The White Lotus season 2, episode 1, “Ciao,” adds another ominous layer to the guests’ Sicilian vacation by including the true Testa di Moro legend. Following the hit Emmy-winning first season set in Hawaii, The White Lotus season 2 brings a group of new guests and two returning figures to the titular resort in Sicily, Italy. Season 2 primarily follows three groups of guests: Returning White Lotus season 1 character Tanya, her husband Greg, and her assistant Portia; the married couples Cameron and Daphne Sullivan and Ethan and Harper Spiller; and Bert Di Grasso, his son Dominic, and his grandson Albie. Throughout each group’s stay at the luxurious White Lotus hotel, the guests become entranced by the Italian landscape and culture.

When the guests first arrive in The White Lotus season 2, they begin noticing the recurring Testa di Moro vases around the hotel, with an employee explaining the importance of the legend. According to The White Lotus, the story of Testa di Moro states that a Moor came to Sicily and seduced a local girl only for her to discover that the man had a wife and children at home. Because the Moor lied to her, she cut his head off, with the vases representing the beheaded man or Sicilian woman (Testa di Moro translates to “Moor’s Head” in English). Considering affairs are already brewing in the Italian-set The White Lotus season 2, the legend undoubtedly foreshadows elements of the guests’ stay.

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Is Testa di Moro A Real Legend In Sicily?

The White Lotus Season 2 Testa Di Moro Vase

The legend of Testa di Moro is a very real and significant legend in Sicily, which is widely known as a tale of love, jealousy, and revenge. The ceramic statue has become a frequent icon and object of Sicilian tradition, which seemingly warns men about the cost of betraying Sicilian women. According to the real-life Italian legend, the story dates back to around 1100 when a young girl spent her days caring for plants and flowers until one day a young Moor sparked her interest (via BB22).

The two quickly fell in love, but once she found out that he had a wife and children in the East where he would soon have to return, she cut off his head to keep him forever. While this aspect isn't explained in The White Lotus season 2, the Sicilian girl made his head into a vase where she watered plants with her tears, with others soon commissioning vases in the same shape as the Moor’s head. While the vases are still often used today to hold beautiful flowers and plants, the legend is undoubtedly a cautionary tale for lovers in Sicily.

Why Testa di Moro Vases Are All Over The Hotel In The White Lotus S2

The White Lotus 2 Ethan Testa Di Moro Vase

The White Lotus resort sees plenty of wealthy Americans arrive for quick vacations, some of whom may become entranced by the stereotypes of romance and betrayals in Italy. While part of the reason why the vases are placed around the hotel is their significance to Sicilian art and folklore, they also serve as a clever warning to The White Lotus season 2 characters who may repeat the circumstances that led to the Moor’s beheading in the legend. Considering several of the vases are placed in the hotel rooms directly facing the guests’ beds, it seems the White Lotus hotel’s staff is using the Testa di Moro vases to keep the vacationers from making similar mistakes.

The legend of the Testa di Moro vase also cleverly connects to the vacationers in The White Lotus season 2 as they stay in Sicily and impact the locals only to leave after one week. The Moor came to Sicily, completely changed the Sicilian girl’s life, and quickly prepared to leave her behind as he returned to his family in the East. Considering The White Lotus’ season 1 ending saw the vacationers exploit the Hawaiian locals only to leave unharmed, the same is apt to be true for the new group of guests in Sicily.

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What The Testa di Moro Teases About The White Lotus Season 2

Dominic and Cameron from White Lotus

The White Lotus season 2 guests will likely try to return home without any consequences, but since the opening scene already teased several deaths, revenge will seemingly be taken in the same vein as the Testa di Moro legend. Since the legend is about romance and betrayals, there are already a few White Lotus season 2 characters to whom the story applies. The White Lotus has teased that Harper (Aubrey Plaza) may have an affair with her husband’s friend Cameron (Theo James), with Cameron’s wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) also expressing her interest in Dateline and murders between husbands and wives.

The HBO series has also hinted that Albie’s father Dominic (The Sopranos' Michael Imperioli) cheated on his wife, only for the character to have an affair with the local Sicilian girl Lucia while at the White Lotus hotel. Since Lucia seems to have taken a liking to Dominic, it’s possible that these two characters will repeat the Testa di Moro legend since he has a wife and children back home in Los Angeles. Unlike the one murder of a staff member in The White Lotus season 1, the opening scene of season 2 teases the deaths of several guests, suggesting the Sicilian vacation will end with murderous revenge for a few characters.

Next: The White Lotus: Why Armond Had To Be The One Who Died