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The corno, Italian horn amulet. These long, gently twisted horn-shaped amulets are worn in Italy to protect against the evil eye. Corni are usually carved out of red coral or made of gold or silver. The type of horn they are intended to copy is not a curled-over sheep horn or goat horn but rather like the twisted horn of an African eland or something similar. Over the years they have become rather stylized and now look less like a natural animal horn than they once did. A regionally popular amulet, they are primarily found in Italy and in America among descendents of Italian immigrants. You can buy corni at any Italian jewelry store in New York to this day. The ones portrayed in the picture are made of red plastic.

Cannoli are Siclilian pastry desserts that are very popular in Sicily and in the entire Italian peninsula. The singular is cannolo (or in the Sicilian language cannolu), meaning "little tube", with the etymology stemming from the Latin canna, or reed. Cannoli are also popular in Italian American cuisine and in the United States are known as a general Italian pastry, while they are specifically Sicilian in origin (in Italy, they're commonly known as cannoli siciliani, Sicilian cannoli). Cannoli consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta. They range in size from cannulicchi, no bigger than a finger, to the fist-sized proportions typically found in Piana degli Albanesi, south of Palermo.

The versions with which Americans are most familiar tend to involve variations on the original concept. This is possibly due to adaptations made by Italians who emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s and discovered limited availability of certain ingredients. The cannoli sold in Italian-American bakeries today usually still contain ricotta, but mascarpone is a less common alternative. Sometimes the filling is a simple custard of sugar, milk, and cornstarch. In either case, the cream is often flavored with vanilla or orange flower water and a light amount of cinnamon. Chopped pistachios, semi-sweet chocolate bits, and candied citrus peel or cherries are often still included, dotting the open ends of the pastry.

This year's San Gennaro Feast opened with a cannoli eating competition.

Contestant Maria Edible is an experienced model who is professionally trained as a make-up artist and hairstylist. In her spare time, Maria is a competitive eater, ready to take on any challenge. 

San Gennaro may be the beloved namesake of the annual feast in Manhattan's Little Italy, but it's the world-famous cannoli eating contest that is among its most venerated highlights. The 85th Annual San Gennaro Feast, New York City’s longest-running, biggest and most revered religious outdoor festival in the United States, is held Thursday, September 15, through Sunday, September 25, 2011, on the streets of historic Little Italy, the lower Manhattan neighborhood which served as the first home in America for hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants who came here seeking to improve their lives beginning in the early part of the 20th century.

Maria Edible scarfed down 11 cannoli and came in last place but still got a trophy. She had set her goal at 10 cannoli, so she is more than pleased with the result. “I choked when I bit into the first one, and that slowed me down, but I kept going, she has declared. The cannoli-eating winner was Patrick Bertoletti who gobbled up 32 cannoli which bested last year’s record of 23. Bertoletti won a Pavarotti CD set.

Baby John the “Cannoli King” of Caffè Palermo. Caffè Palermo opened its doors in the Spring of 1973. A must-stop location with any Little Italy visit, Caffè Palermo is world famous for its cannoli, but also for its other Italian cakes (like their delicious cappuccino cake and home-made Tiramisu) and pastry specialties (like Pastiera Napoletana).

In the United States, Italian sausage most often refers to a style of pork sausage noted for being seasoned with fennel and/or anise as the primary seasoning. The most common varieties marketed in US grocery stores as "Italian Sausage" are hot, sweet, and mild. The main difference between hot and mild is the addition of hot red pepper flakes in the spice mix of the former. The difference between mild and sweet is the addition of sweet basil flakes. The big and messy sausage-and-pepper hero is a staple of every Italian American street fair.

At the San Gennaro not all stands sell Italian specialties. These pickles are still delicious, no matter what their origin is.

Baby John the “Cannoli King” of Caffè Palermo invited the crowd to taste some cannoli. People fought with each other to get a hold of one... “Quite simply Caffè Palermo is Little Italy's undisputed King of Cannoli,” EATS Magazine wrote. “Owner John Delutro, born and raised in Little Italy, first opened its doors in 1973 and quickly garnered a reputation for his authentic picturesque Italian pastries.

A stunned crowd cheers on for their favorite cannoli eating champion.