These decadent, crispy fried pastry tubes filled with luscious ricotta cheese cream are perhaps one of Sicily's best known desserts outside of Italy. Cannoli are believed to have originated around Palermo during the 9th century, while Sicily was under Arab rule.

Legend has it that they were originally prepared by the women of the ancient city of Qal'at al-Nisā' (lit. castle of women), the modern-day Caltanissetta, which at the time served as the harem of a Saracen emir. Later on, the recipe later somehow found its way to the monasteries of Palermo where nuns would prepare this lavish dessert during the carnival season. 

This classic Sicilian semi-frozen dessert is just the thing to cool you down during the dog days of summer. It is served all across the island, and traditionally enjoyed for breakfast alongside an espresso and brioche. Granita is made with water, sugar, and fruit juice or various other flavorings.

It is sometimes confused with sorbetto, though granita has a much grainier texture, hence the name, while its origins can be traced back to the sweet Arabic chilled drink sharbāt which was introduced to Sicily during Arab rule. However, traditional granita is not simply chilled but almost frozen - in fact, it was once called rattata (lit. grated) and made using snow and ice from Etna that was collected during winter, then stored in mountain caves. 

Although granita—frozen Sicilian dessert similar to sorbetto—is enjoyed throughout Sicily, the city of Messina is often dubbed as its spiritual home, and apart from typical flavors such as lemon, strawberry, chocolate, peach, mulberry, and pistachio, the most common specialty associated with the city is the coffee-flavored granita.

In Messina, granita has a coarser structure, and the coffee-flavored combination is often called mezza con panna, which translates as half with cream. This name stems from the ancient practice of serving granita in larger glasses and those who would prefer smaller portions would often order only half (mezza).