Chickpea Soup

In 1282, during the violent revolt known as the Sicilian Vespers (immortalized by composer Giuseppe Verdi in his opera I Vespri Siciliani), the French, who were the oppressors, were tested by their pronunciation of ciciri. If a person could not pronounce the word as a Sicilian native would by rolling the “r,” which the French were not able to do, that person became the next victim. The power of words!