Flavors · Sicília

Cannolo siciliano

A tube of fried, crunchy pastry filled on the spot with sweet sheep’s ricotta cream, decorated at the ends with candied fruit or pistachio. It’s Sicily’s best-known sweet, associated with Carnival.

Traditional sweet from Sicília

Also known as: cannoli, cannolo, cannoli siciliani

Updated November 2026

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Cannolo siciliano — Sicília, Italy — Cannolo siciliano

Cannolo siciliano — Sicília, Italy

The cannolo shell, called scorza, is made with flour, lard, sugar, a little cocoa, Marsala wine or vinegar, and sometimes cinnamon. The dough is rolled thin, cut into discs, wrapped around metal tubes and fried until bubbles form and it becomes crisp. The filling is fresh sheep’s ricotta, passed through a sieve and mixed with sugar, sometimes with small pieces of chocolate. The ends are topped with candied fruit, such as orange or cherry, or chopped pistachio, and the cannolo is dusted with powdered sugar.

The filling should be added shortly before eating so the ricotta’s moisture doesn’t soften the shell. Many pastry shops fill the cannolo on the spot, in front of the customer.

The origin is told by legends. The most repeated places the sweet in Caltanissetta, whose name would come from the Arabic Kalt el Nissa, “castle of women,” and attributes it to the women of a harem from the Arab period. Another version speaks of cloistered nuns who made it for Carnival as a playful treat; one version places that story in a Palermo convent. The Accademia Italiana della Cucina records these hypotheses and notes there are no documents about the origin. The cannolo was originally a Carnival sweet and later came to be made year-round.

Each part of the island has its version: in Catania the shell is more brittle and the filling may include pistachios from Bronte; in Messina there are cannoli with ricotta mixed with cocoa. Because it’s made all over Sicily without a single proven city of origin, the cannolo represents the entire island.

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Where it comes from

Sicília
A sweet from all of Sicily; the origin in Caltanissetta is a legend, and the cannolo is made across the island with local variations.

Ingredients

Flour, lard, sugar, cocoa, Marsala or vinegar in the shell; sheep’s ricotta, sugar and chocolate chips in the filling; candied fruit or pistachio and powdered sugar for decoration.

How it is eaten

By hand, immediately after filling, as a dessert or snack.

When it is eaten

Traditionally at Carnival, but made and sold year-round.

Your questions

Questions about Cannolo siciliano

Why should the cannolo be filled at the last minute?

Because the ricotta’s moisture softens the fried shell. Filled at the last minute, it stays crispy.

Did the cannolo originate in Caltanissetta?

That is the best-known legend, linking it to the women of a harem from the Arab period. There are no documents about the origin, and the sweet is made throughout Sicily.

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