Cannoli probably took shape in Sicily during the centuries of Arab rule, when the island was the Emirate of Sicily from 827 to 1091. Historians link the name to the Arabic qanawāt, meaning tubes, for the shape of the shells. The Arabs also brought candied fruit, pistachios and cinnamon, and the habit of combining nuts and fruit with sugar and honey. Food historian Gaetano Basile says cannoli come from the Palermo and Messina areas and were a Carnival treat before becoming a year-round staple. Another theory traces the word to the Latin canneolus, a reed joint, the tool used to roll the dough before frying.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.