Is a Cannoli a Fertility Symbol?

Before we can start our hunt of finding the greatest cannoli in Philly, we owe the tasty treat the respect of knowing its heritage.

The legendary Italian pastry was rumored to be born in Sicily around 827-1091 AD. It was prepared during the Carnevale season because everyone knows you can’t have a party without cannoli. Once this pastry was introduced to the world, obviously people would not settle for having it only once a year, therefore it became a staple in Sicily year-round. The dessert was possibly seen as a fertility symbol and honestly the more I stare at a cannolo, the more it makes sense.

Did you know that in Italian cannoli is actually plural? Cannolo is singular and means “little tube” in English. They sure are yummy tubes!