This work was inspired and adapted from the "Voynich Manuscript," a 15th century codex hand-written in an unknown writing system, which may have been composed in Northern Italy during the Italian Renaissance. The mystery of the meaning and origin of the manuscript has excited the popular imagination, making the manuscript the subject of novels and speculation.

Amethyst Basil is a uniquely Italian and ancient variety. It has large, thick, turned down leaves, appearing almost black. In ancient mythology, it was associated with Bacchus and wine—in fact, according to the ancient Greeks, it could guard against drunkenness… Amethystos means “not drunk” in Ancient Greek. Later, under Christian tradition, the color would come to be associated with Christ, its colors representing purity of spirit.