The Pasta Atlas of Italy

Spaghetti alla chitarra col ragù d'agnelloSan Martino sulla Marrucina · Agreed by tradition · 47k searches a month

Square-edged egg spaghetti, cut on a wire-strung frame shaped like a guitar, with a slow sauce of mountain lamb, tomato and peppers. Chewy and sweet.

Sagne e fagioliPescara area · Agreed by tradition · 8.3k searches a month

Irregular flour-and-water strips stewed with beans, tomato and a little guanciale or pancetta. Winter food, ready when a spoon stands up in it.

Timballo teramanoTeramo · Agreed by tradition · 3.6k searches a month

A tall baked pie built from layers of paper-thin crêpes (scrippelle), tiny meatballs, ragù, boiled egg and melting scamorza. Abruzzo's Sunday showpiece.

Pasta alla mugnaiaElice · Agreed by tradition · 2.6k searches a month

Thick pasta stretched by hand into long uneven strands, with a lamb and pork ragù and strong pecorino. Rustic, chewy and filling.

Pasta alla pecoraraElice · Agreed by tradition · 1.6k searches a month

Thick rings or short pasta with a soft mix of ricotta, tomato and vegetables like courgette, pepper and aubergine. Shepherd's food, but sweet and summery.

Virtù teramaneTeramo · Agreed by tradition · 1.4k searches a month

A soup for the first of May: spring vegetables, last year's dried legumes, meat and several shapes of pasta, cooked separately and combined. Traditionally everything had to be there.

Lagane e ceciBasilicata, Potenza · Disputed · 10k searches a month

Wide strips of flour-and-water pasta in a thick chickpea stew with garlic, rosemary and chilli. Often called the oldest pasta dish in Italy, and it could be.

Strascinati coi peperoni cruschiSenise · Agreed by tradition · 6.9k searches a month

Rough pasta shapes dragged by hand across the board, with toasted breadcrumbs and crushed crisp sweet peppers that are sun-dried, then fried for seconds until they crackle.

Ferricelli al ragùViggiano · Disputed · 5.9k searches a month

Long hollow pasta rolled on a thin iron, with a pork ragù and grated pecorino, and often horseradish, the 'poor man's truffle' of Basilicata.

Fileja con la 'ndujaVibo Valentia · Agreed by tradition · 36k searches a month

Long hollow twists of semolina pasta wrapped around a cane, in a burning, soft sauce of 'nduja, Calabria's spreadable chilli sausage.

StruncaturaGioia Tauro · Disputed · 5.6k searches a month

Dark, rough linguine made from what was left on the mill floor, with anchovies, chilli, garlic, breadcrumbs and olives. A once-illegal food, now a Calabrian pride.

Pasta chinaCalabria, Catanzaro · Nobody knows · 4.7k searches a month

Calabria's Sunday baked pasta. The name means filled: short pasta, tiny meatballs, boiled egg, sliced salami and cheese, all held together by ragù.

Pasta c'a muddicaReggio Calabria · Disputed · 2.7k searches a month

Spaghetti with anchovies, garlic and chilli under fried breadcrumbs that stand in for cheese. The poor man's Parmesan, and many people prefer it.

Spaghetti aglio e olioNaples · Disputed · 490k searches a month

Garlic, oil, chilli and spaghetti. The midnight dish of Italy: ready before the water has time to get bored, and entirely vegan.

Cannelloni alla sorrentina'O Parrucchiano, Sorrento · Agreed by tradition · 450k searches a month

Large rolled tubes filled with ricotta and fior di latte, baked in tomato and basil. Soft, milky and summery, not heavy.

Spaghetti alla puttanescaIschia · Disputed · 374k searches a month

Tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, garlic and chilli. Salty and sharp, a pantry dish with a shameless name, ready in the time it takes to boil the pasta.

Spaghetti al pomodoroNaples · Documented · 352k searches a month

The plate that became the symbol of Italy: spaghetti, ripe tomatoes, oil, basil. No cheese required, and nowhere to hide a bad tomato.

PaccheriNaples and Gragnano · Agreed by tradition · 308k searches a month

Huge, smooth tubes of durum wheat that slap the plate (pacchero is Neapolitan for a slap), most famously with scorpionfish and cherry tomatoes.

Spaghetti alle vongoleNaples · Agreed by tradition · 249k searches a month

Spaghetti cooked with small clams, garlic, parsley and oil until the sea water from the shells turns into the sauce. Clean, briny and sweet.

Pasta e patate con provolaNaples · Agreed by tradition · 150k searches a month

Mixed leftover pasta and potatoes cooked down together until starchy and thick, with smoked provola melted in. Naples' answer to a bad day.

Gnocchi alla sorrentinaPiazza Tasso, Sorrento · Agreed by tradition · 113k searches a month

Potato gnocchi baked in a clay dish with tomato sauce, fior di latte and basil until the cheese stretches and browns.

Spaghetti alla NeranoMarina del Cantone, Nerano · Documented · 89k searches a month

Spaghetti with fried courgettes and a creamy sauce of provolone del Monaco, basil and pasta water. Sweet, nutty and much better than it sounds.

Scialatielli ai frutti di mareLa Caravella, Amalfi · Documented · 74k searches a month

Short, thick, irregular fresh strips made with milk, basil and cheese, under mussels, clams and prawns. Chewy, and one of the youngest pastas on this map.

Ziti alla genoveseNaples · Disputed · 56k searches a month

Despite the name, a Neapolitan classic: kilos of onions cooked with beef for many hours until they melt into a sweet, dark, golden sauce, on broken ziti. No tomato at all.

Frittata di maccheroniNaples · Agreed by tradition · 47k searches a month

Yesterday's spaghetti fried in a thick cake with eggs, cheese and salami. Crunchy outside, soft inside, eaten cold at the beach and on trains.

Spaghetti con la colatura di aliciCetara · Documented · 24k searches a month

Spaghetti dressed with colatura, the amber sauce dripped from salted anchovies, with garlic and chilli. A very Italian fish sauce and a Christmas Eve tradition.

Ziti al ragù napoletanoNaples · Agreed by tradition · 21k searches a month

Sunday in Naples: whole pieces of meat simmered for hours in tomato, so the sauce turns dark and sweet. Pasta first, meat after.

Pasta allo scarparielloQuartieri Spagnoli, Naples · Agreed by tradition · 12k searches a month

Sunday's ragù gets a second life on Monday with fresh tomato, chilli, basil and a heavy snowfall of pecorino and Parmigiano, tossed into a creamy red sauce.

Lasagna di CarnevaleNaples · Agreed by tradition · 9.4k searches a month

The Neapolitan way, no béchamel: thick sheets layered with Sunday ragù, tiny meatballs, ricotta, provola, sausage and boiled egg. Made for the last excess before Lent.

Maccheroni cacio e uovaNaples · Documented · 1.6k searches a month

Pasta tossed with beaten eggs, grated cheese and sometimes lard or peas. Think of a much older Neapolitan cousin of carbonara.

Fusilli avellinesiValle del Sabato, Avellino · Agreed by tradition · 1.3k searches a month

Hand-spun long pasta twisted around a thin iron, in a Sunday meat ragù. Thick and bouncy, and much more alive than the factory shape.

'Ndunderi di MinoriMinori · Agreed by tradition · 720 searches a month

Soft dumplings of ricotta and flour, usually with a tomato sauce. An ancestor of gnocchi from before the potato arrived, still made in a town on the Amalfi coast.

LasagneBologna · Disputed · 1.9M searches a month

Sheets of pasta baked in layers with ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano. In Bologna the sheets are green with spinach, and the corner pieces cause arguments.

Tagliatelle al ragùBologna · Documented · 800k searches a month

Golden egg ribbons in a slow meat sauce with very little tomato. This is what the rest of the world calls Bolognese, as Bologna actually makes it.

Tortellini in brodoCastelfranco Emilia · Disputed · 706k searches a month

Tiny rings of egg pasta filled with pork loin, mortadella, prosciutto and Parmigiano, served in capon broth. Emilia's Christmas in a bowl.

Spaghetti bologneseBologna · Disputed · 572k searches a month

Spaghetti with meat sauce, usually redder than the original: one of the most eaten pasta dishes on earth, and one that Bologna refuses to recognise.

StrozzapretiRomagna, Ravenna · Agreed by tradition · 153k searches a month

Twisted rough strips of flour-and-water pasta. The name means priest-chokers and every Romagna family has a story about why.

Cappelletti in brodoForlì, Romagna · Disputed · 119k searches a month

Little hats of egg pasta (the name means that) filled with cheese and sometimes meat, in hot meat broth. Romagna's Christmas dish.

Garganelli al ragùImola · Agreed by tradition · 86k searches a month

Hand-rolled ridged tubes of egg pasta that hold a meat ragù inside and out. They look like penne but they are square pieces rolled on a comb.

Passatelli in brodoRomagna, Cesena · Agreed by tradition · 60k searches a month

Knobbly strands of breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, egg and nutmeg, pressed through a holed iron straight into the broth. A dish with no flour at all.

Tortelloni di ricottaBologna · Nobody knows · 60k searches a month

Large parcels of egg pasta filled with ricotta, Parmigiano and parsley, dressed simply with butter and sage or tomato. Lean and delicate.

Cappellacci di zucca ferraresiFerrara · Documented · 37k searches a month

Big rough hats of egg pasta filled with sweet violina pumpkin and Parmigiano, dressed in butter and sage or a meat ragù.

Maltagliati e fagioliModena · Nobody knows · 33k searches a month

The badly cut scraps of an egg pasta sheet, simmered in a thick bean soup. The name says it: maltagliati means badly cut.

Pisarei e fasöPiacenza · Agreed by tradition · 14k searches a month

Tiny pressed gnocchi of flour and breadcrumbs with borlotti beans and a little lardo and tomato. Thick, thrifty and very filling.

Anolini in brodoParma · Disputed · 14k searches a month

Round pasta parcels filled with the crumbs of a long-braised stew and Parmigiano, floating in a rich broth. Jokingly called lifebelts in Parma.

Gramigna alla salsicciaBologna · Agreed by tradition · 10k searches a month

Little curled tubes of egg pasta, like blades of couch grass, with crumbled sausage in a creamy or tomato sauce. A trattoria favourite in Bologna.

BalanzoniBologna · Agreed by tradition · 8.5k searches a month

Green tortelloni filled with ricotta, spinach and mortadella, with butter and sage. Named after Dottor Balanzone, Bologna's fat Carnival mask.

Tortelli con la codaVigolzone · Agreed by tradition · 2.4k searches a month

Plaited parcels of pasta that end in a little tail, filled with ricotta and spinach, in butter and sage. They take a practised hand and they look like jewellery.

Tortelli d'erbettaParma · Agreed by tradition · 1.9k searches a month

Green-veined pasta parcels of chard and ricotta under melted butter and Parmigiano. In Parma they are eaten on the night of Saint John.

CjarsonsCarnia, Tolmezzo · Agreed by tradition · 8.6k searches a month

Half-moon ravioli that taste of a spice cupboard: potato, herbs, raisins, cinnamon, sometimes cocoa or grappa, under butter and smoked ricotta. Sweet and savoury at once.

BlecsUdine · Nobody knows · 1.4k searches a month

Rough patches of egg pasta made with wheat, buckwheat and corn flour, dressed with butter and cheese or a game sauce. Blecs means patches.

Gnocchi di susineTrieste · Disputed · 1.2k searches a month

Potato gnocchi each wrapped around a whole plum with sugar inside, rolled in butter, cinnamon and fried breadcrumbs. Half first course, half dessert.

Spaghetti alla carbonaraSanta Maria in Trastevere, Rome · Disputed · 2M searches a month

Spaghetti coated in a glossy cream of raw egg and sharp pecorino, set only by the heat of the pasta, with crisp guanciale and a lot of black pepper. No cream, ever.

Fettuccine AlfredoPiazza Rosa, Rome · Documented · 752k searches a month

Fresh fettuccine tossed with an extravagant amount of butter and Parmigiano until creamy. The original has no cream, chicken or garlic.

Cacio e pepeRome · Disputed · 649k searches a month

Just pasta, pecorino and pepper, emulsified with cooking water into a creamy sauce. Three ingredients and easy to get wrong.

Bucatini all'amatricianaAmatrice · Disputed · 410k searches a month

Thick hollow spaghetti in a sauce of guanciale, tomato, chilli and pecorino. Sweet, salty, peppery, and a Roman staple named for a mountain town.

Penne alla vodkaRome · Disputed · 387k searches a month

Penne in a pink sauce of tomato and cream with a shot of vodka, sometimes with pancetta. The pasta of 1980s Italian nightclubs, now huge in America.

Penne all'arrabbiataRome · Agreed by tradition · 210k searches a month

Short pasta in a tomato sauce hot with chilli and garlic. The name means angry: that is how red you get. Vegan unless you add cheese.

Pasta alla griciaGrisciano, Accumoli · Disputed · 119k searches a month

Amatriciana before tomatoes: guanciale, pecorino, black pepper and pasta water. Simple, smoky-sweet and rich.

Pasta e ceciRome · Nobody knows · 115k searches a month

Small pasta in a thick chickpea soup, scented with rosemary, and in Rome with salted anchovy. A dish as old as Latin poetry.

Gnocchi alla romanaRome · Disputed · 81k searches a month

Not potato: rounds of cooked semolina with milk, butter and Parmigiano, overlapped in a dish and baked until the edges crisp.

Rigatoni alla zozzonaCastelli Romani, Frascati · Disputed · 43k searches a month

The Roman greatest hits in one pan: guanciale, sausage, tomato, egg yolk, pecorino and pepper. Zozzona means filthy, and this is said with love.

Rigatoni con la pajataTestaccio, Rome · Agreed by tradition · 25k searches a month

Rigatoni in a tomato sauce with milk-fed veal intestine, whose contents turn creamy like ricotta when cooked. Rome's fifth-quarter cooking at its most fearless.

Fettuccine alla papalinaVia del Mascherino, Rome · Disputed · 5.8k searches a month

A carbonara dressed for the Vatican: egg fettuccine with prosciutto, butter, Parmigiano and egg. Softer, rounder and more genteel than its Roman cousin.

Spaghetti alla checcaVia dei Coronari, Rome · Disputed · 4.9k searches a month

A summer sauce that is hardly cooked: raw tomato, mozzarella, basil, garlic and oil, tossed through hot spaghetti.

Pasta e broccoli in brodo d'arzillaRome · Agreed by tradition · 740 searches a month

Broken pasta and Roman broccoli in a broth made from skate. A Lenten dish that tastes clean and deep at once, and one of Rome's forgotten great soups.

Fettuccine alla ciociaraCiociaria, Frosinone · Agreed by tradition · 670 searches a month

Egg fettuccine in a rich sauce of chicken giblets, or of guanciale, mushrooms and peas, depending on the kitchen. Country Sunday cooking from south of Rome.

RavioliGenoa · Disputed · 675k searches a month

Egg pasta squares filled with meat and greens or with ricotta. The classic Genoese version comes with tocco, a long-cooked meat sauce.

Trenette al pestoGenoa · Agreed by tradition · 230k searches a month

Flat long pasta in the world's most copied green sauce: raw basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese and oil. Fragrant, fresh, never cooked.

Trofie al pestoSori, Golfo Paradiso · Agreed by tradition · 115k searches a month

Little twists of flour and water rubbed by hand, chewy and curled, dressed raw with basil pesto. Often boiled with potatoes and green beans.

Pansoti al sugo di nociRapallo · Disputed · 21k searches a month

Pot-bellied triangles stuffed with wild herbs and fresh curd, in a creamy walnut sauce. Delicate, green and nutty.

CorzettiVarese Ligure · Agreed by tradition · 19k searches a month

Thin coins of pasta stamped with carved wooden moulds, so that the pattern catches the sauce: pine nuts and marjoram, pesto or a meat sauce.

Mandilli de sæaGenoa · Agreed by tradition · 8.4k searches a month

Huge, thin sheets of pasta draped on the plate like the silk handkerchiefs of their Genoese name, with pesto. Elegant and simple.

Pizzoccheri alla valtellineseTeglio · Agreed by tradition · 127k searches a month

Short, grey-brown buckwheat ribbons baked up with potatoes, cabbage, garlicky butter and melting Valtellina cheese. Nutty and very filling.

Casoncelli alla bergamascaBergamo · Disputed · 49k searches a month

Folded half-moons with a sweet-savoury filling of breadcrumbs, sausage, amaretti and raisins, topped with butter, sage and crisp pancetta.

Tortelli di zuccaMantua · Disputed · 15k searches a month

Big ravioli filled with sweet pumpkin, crushed amaretti and spicy mostarda, in butter and Parmigiano. Sweet, sharp and salty in one mouthful.

Marubini ai tre brodiCremona · Documented · 3.9k searches a month

Round stuffed pasta filled with braised beef, salami and Grana, poached in a broth of three meats. Cremona's dish for special days.

CapunseiCereta, Volta Mantovana · Agreed by tradition · 3.1k searches a month

Spindle-shaped gnocchi of stale bread, broth and Grana, thrifty and savoury, dressed with butter and sage or eaten in broth.

Tortelli cremaschiCrema · Disputed · 3k searches a month

Sealed with a twist like a sweet wrapper and filled with amaretti, raisins, candied citron, mint and spices, under butter, sage and Grana. A flavour from the Renaissance.

Bigoli con le sardelleCastel d'Ario · Agreed by tradition · 1.6k searches a month

Thick rough spaghetti in a sharp sauce of salted sardines melted in oil with garlic. Very few ingredients and a lot of flavour.

Agnolini mantovani in brodoMantua · Documented · 1.2k searches a month

Tiny rings of pasta filled with slow-braised beef and salami, served in clear meat broth, sometimes with a splash of Lambrusco in the bowl.

Gnocchetti di ChiavennaChiavenna · Agreed by tradition · 1.1k searches a month

Also called white pizzoccheri: small flour-and-bread dumplings soaked in butter, garlic and melted local cheese, served in the rock-cellar taverns of the valley.

VincisgrassiMacerata · Disputed · 13k searches a month

A rich Marche lasagne: many thin layers with a ragù of mixed meats and chicken giblets, béchamel and Parmigiano, baked until the top crisps.

Maccheroncini di CampofiloneCampofilone · Documented · 3.5k searches a month

Egg pasta as thin as angel hair, cooked for under a minute and dressed with a light ragù. They melt rather than chew.

Cresc' tajatPesaro area, Fossombrone · Agreed by tradition · 260 searches a month

Leftover polenta kneaded with flour, rolled and cut into diamonds, stewed with beans or a vegetable sauce. Thrift you can taste.

Passatelli all'urbinateUrbino · Agreed by tradition · 30 searches a month

The Marche's richer take on passatelli: with beef marrow and spinach or beef mince in the dough, cooked in broth. A very rare version today.

Cavatelli al ragùCampobasso · Agreed by tradition · 206k searches a month

Small hollow shells dragged off the dough with one finger, in a slow Sunday ragù of mixed meats. Firm and chewy, and they hold the sauce.

Crioli al ragùCampobasso · Agreed by tradition · 770 searches a month

Molise's square spaghetti, made like chitarra but thicker, with a pork or sheep-meat ragù. The name is said to come from the shepherds' shoelaces.

Taccozze e fagioliBasso Molise, Larino · Agreed by tradition · 480 searches a month

Small squares of flour-and-water pasta in a thick bean stew with lardo and chilli, the kind of winter dish you need a walk after.

Agnolotti del plinAlta Langa, above Alba · Agreed by tradition · 199k searches a month

Tiny pinched parcels of egg pasta filled with roast meats and greens, tossed in butter and sage or in the juices of the roast. One bite each, silky and rich.

TajarinAlba, in the Langhe · Agreed by tradition · 25k searches a month

Hair-thin egg tagliolini, yolk-rich and deep yellow, served with little more than butter and shaved white truffle, or with the juices of a roast.

Gnocchi alla bavaTurin · Disputed · 3.6k searches a month

Potato gnocchi drowned in melted mountain cheese that pulls into long strings when you lift them. Bava means drool, and that is the cheese.

Ravioles della Val VaraitaMelle, Val Varaita · Agreed by tradition · 1.3k searches a month

Despite the name, nothing is filled: spindle-shaped gnocchi of potato and mountain cheese worked into the dough, served very hot with butter and grated cheese.

Gnocchi all'ossolanaVilladossola · Documented · 530 searches a month

Autumn gnocchi of potato, pumpkin and chestnut: faintly sweet, with butter and mountain cheese.

Orecchiette alle cime di rapaBari · Documented · 296k searches a month

Little ear-shaped pasta pressed by thumb and boiled with bitter turnip tops, then tossed with anchovies, garlic and chilli. Puglia on a plate, and in the old town of Bari it is made in the street.

Spaghetti all'assassinaAl Sorso Preferito, Bari · Agreed by tradition · 129k searches a month

Spaghetti cooked raw in an iron pan with a chilli tomato broth, like a risotto, until parts of it burn and char. Crunchy, smoky, very hot.

Pasta alla crudaiolaBari countryside · Agreed by tradition · 13k searches a month

Hot pasta with a raw sauce of ripe tomato, garlic, basil, olives and hard ricotta or cheese. A dish made in minutes when it is too hot to cook.

Ciceri e triaLecce, Salento · Agreed by tradition · 8.6k searches a month

Chickpeas with fresh pasta strips, part boiled and part fried until crunchy. The contrast is the point, and the fried pasta once stood in for meat.

Sagne 'ncannulateSalento, Lecce · Agreed by tradition · 4.8k searches a month

Long ribbons wound into tight open coils, made by hand with semolina and water, served with tomato, ricotta forte and basil. Curly and very good at holding sauce.

Troccoli alla foggianaFoggia · Agreed by tradition · 3.1k searches a month

Thick rough square strands cut with a grooved rolling pin. In Foggia they get a powerful Sunday ragù with pork, horse braciole and bacon.

Spaghetti alla San GiuanninBari and Trani · Agreed by tradition · 230 searches a month

Spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, tomato, chilli, capers and anchovies, hot and sharp. Made for the feast of Saint John the Baptist.

Fregola con le arselleCagliari · Agreed by tradition · 115k searches a month

Toasted semolina pearls, smoky and nutty, cooked like a risotto with tiny clams and a little tomato. Sardinia's most loved seafood dish.

Malloreddus alla campidaneseCampidano, Sanluri · Agreed by tradition · 66k searches a month

Ridged little semolina shells, often yellow with saffron, under a sausage and tomato sauce with fennel seed. Also sold as gnocchetti sardi.

CulurgionesOgliastra, Lanusei · Documented · 62k searches a month

Plump dumplings sealed with a pleat like an ear of wheat, filled with potato, pecorino and mint. Beautiful to fold and very filling.

Spaghetti alla bottargaCabras · Agreed by tradition · 22k searches a month

Spaghetti with garlic, oil and grated salted grey mullet roe. It tastes intensely of the sea, with a bitter edge.

Su filindeuNuoro · Agreed by tradition · 10k searches a month

Often called the rarest pasta in the world: hundreds of threads pulled by hand, layered and dried in the sun, served in mutton broth with sour cheese. 'Threads of God.'

LorighittasMorgongiori · Agreed by tradition · 6k searches a month

Hand-braided rings of semolina pasta, two strands twisted around the fingers. Traditionally served with free-range chicken and tomato. Slow to make and beautiful to see.

Maccarrones de busaNuoro area · Agreed by tradition · 1.2k searches a month

Long hollow pasta rolled around a knitting needle (the busa), for feast days, with a meat sauce or a sauce of wild boar and pecorino.

Pasta alla NormaVia Etnea, Catania · Agreed by tradition · 188k searches a month

Short pasta with tomato, fried aubergine, basil and a snow of salted ricotta. Sweet, silky, salty. Catania's great pride, and it needs nothing else.

Busiate al pesto trapaneseTrapani · Agreed by tradition · 81k searches a month

Long spirals wound on a reed, with a raw pesto of tomatoes, almonds, basil, garlic and cheese. Sicily's own pesto, and on a hot day it is better than Genoa's.

Pasta con le sardePalermo · Disputed · 42k searches a month

Bucatini with fresh sardines, wild fennel, raisins, pine nuts, saffron and toasted breadcrumbs. Sweet, sour, of the sea and the hills, and it tastes like Sicily's history.

Anelletti al fornoPalermo · Agreed by tradition · 28k searches a month

Tiny pasta rings baked in a tall drum with meat ragù, peas, aubergine, caciocavallo and ham until the outside crisps. Sunday lunch in Palermo, and any leftover is fought over.

Minestra di tenerumiRagusa · Disputed · 17k searches a month

A cooling summer soup of tenerumi, the tender leaves of the long Sicilian squash, with broken spaghetti, tomato and garlic. Served lukewarm.

Pasta 'ncasciataMistretta · Agreed by tradition · 15k searches a month

Maccheroni baked with ragù, meatballs, boiled egg, salami, caciocavallo, fried aubergine and peas. In old times the pan went between hot coals, top and bottom.

Pasta alla carrettieraValle dei Platani · Disputed · 13k searches a month

Raw garlic, chilli, oil and a heap of grated pecorino on hot spaghetti, sometimes with fresh tomato. Quick food for a long day on the cart.

Cùscusu alla trapaneseTorre di Ligny, Trapani · Agreed by tradition · 9.1k searches a month

Hand-rolled semolina steamed over bay and then soaked in a rich fish broth. The technique is North African; the almonds and mixed fish are Trapani's.

Pasta c'anciovaPalermo · Disputed · 6.4k searches a month

Bucatini with tomato, anchovies, raisins, pine nuts and toasted crumbs. Also known as 'alla milanisa' in Sicily, a name no one in Milan has heard of.

Spaghetti ai ricci di mareDon Camillo, Ortigia, Syracuse · Disputed · 6.3k searches a month

Spaghetti barely coated in raw sea urchin roe with oil and garlic. Sweet and sea-salty, gone in three bites, and impossible to make well away from the sea.

Timballo di maccheroniMessina · Disputed · 3.7k searches a month

A sweet-crusted pie of maccheroni, chicken livers, ham, truffle and egg, made famous by the banquet scene in The Leopard. It is a dish for showing off.

Pasta chi vruocculi arriminatiPalermo · Agreed by tradition · 2.9k searches a month

Bucatini mixed with cauliflower (broccolo in Palermo) stirred until creamy with anchovies, saffron, raisins and pine nuts. Arriminati means stirred round.

Pasta alla siracusanaSyracuse · Agreed by tradition · 1.1k searches a month

Fried angel hair in the older version, or simply spaghetti with anchovies, tomato and olives. A dish of old Syracuse, sharp and salty.

PappardelleMaremma, Scansano · Disputed · 571k searches a month

Very broad egg ribbons built for heavy game sauces: wild boar above all, or hare, stewed in red wine until it falls apart.

GnudiFlorence · Disputed · 88k searches a month

The filling of a ravioli with no pasta around it: naked balls of ricotta and spinach, poached and dressed with butter and sage.

Pici all'aglioneValdichiana, Montepulciano · Agreed by tradition · 74k searches a month

Fat, hand-rolled spaghetti of flour and water in a tomato sauce made with aglione, a giant mild garlic with no bite afterwards.

Testaroli al pestoPontremoli · Agreed by tradition · 22k searches a month

A pancake that thinks it's pasta: batter is cooked on a hot cast-iron dish, cut into diamonds, soaked in hot water and dressed with pesto.

Tordelli lucchesiLucca · Agreed by tradition · 9.5k searches a month

Big half-moons filled with meat, chard, bread and spice, under ragù. A generous feast-day dish, and thyme is what makes it taste of Lucca.

Tortelli di patate mugellaniMugello, Borgo San Lorenzo · Agreed by tradition · 5.7k searches a month

Square ravioli of mashed potato with garlic, parsley and nutmeg, usually with a duck or meat ragù. Plain-sounding and extremely good.

Spaghetti all'ubriacoOsteria de' Benci, Florence · Agreed by tradition · 2.2k searches a month

Spaghetti cooked in red wine until purple, then tossed with garlic, chilli and a little cheese. Drunken spaghetti: tannic, sweet and dramatic.

Tortelli maremmaniGrosseto · Agreed by tradition · 2k searches a month

Large spinach and ricotta tortelli with a wide flat edge, the 'pavement', to catch a meat or wild boar ragù.

Penne strascicateSan Lorenzo, Florence · Agreed by tradition · 1.8k searches a month

Penne finished in the pan with a Tuscan meat ragù until the sauce clings. Strascicate means dragged, and that is what you do to them.

Spaghetti con le arselleViareggio · Disputed · 1.6k searches a month

Long pasta with tiny Tuscan clams, garlic, a touch of tomato and chilli. Light, sweet, and the taste of the Versilia coast.

BringoliAnghiari · Agreed by tradition · 500 searches a month

Long, thick strands rolled by hand from flour and water, with a meatless 'fake sauce' of tomato and soffritto. Peasant cooking in a medieval town.

CanederliCastel d'Appiano, near Bolzano · Disputed · 69k searches a month

Fist-sized dumplings of stale bread, speck and egg, poached and served in broth or with melted butter. Alpine thrift made into comfort food.

SchlutzkrapfenVal Pusteria, Brunico · Agreed by tradition · 41k searches a month

Half-moons of rye and wheat pasta filled with spinach and curd cheese, slick with brown butter. The name comes from a dialect word for sliding, as they slip down.

StrangolapretiTrento · Agreed by tradition · 20k searches a month

Soft green dumplings of stale bread and spinach or chard with egg and grated cheese, in melted butter and sage. The name means priest-chokers.

Spinach spätzleBolzano, South Tyrol · Nobody knows · 10k searches a month

Bright green irregular noodles scraped straight into boiling water, in a sauce of speck and cream or just butter and cheese. Ready in minutes.

Pasta alla norcinaNorcia · Agreed by tradition · 20k searches a month

Short pasta in a creamy white sauce of Norcia sausage, with sheep's ricotta or cream and sometimes black truffle.

Strangozzi al tartufo neroSpoleto · Agreed by tradition · 13k searches a month

Rough square-cut strands of flour and water, tossed with black truffle pounded with garlic and warm olive oil. Earthy and intense.

UmbricelliPerugia · Agreed by tradition · 4.3k searches a month

Fat, irregular flour-and-water spaghetti rolled by hand. The name comes from the dialect word for earthworm, and they are served with game, mushrooms or truffle.

Ciriole alla ternanaTerni · Agreed by tradition · 3.5k searches a month

Thick, chewy strands of flour and water with a sharp sauce of garlic, chilli, olive oil and sometimes mushrooms or truffle.

ChnéffleneGressoney-Saint-Jean · Agreed by tradition · 920 searches a month

Rough little dumplings of a loose flour, egg and milk batter, pushed through a holed board into boiling water and finished with butter and fontina.

GnocchiSan Zeno, Verona · Nobody knows · 1.3M searches a month

Soft pillows of potato and a little flour that take any sauce, from butter and sage to a slow ragù. Light when made well, heavy when not.

Pasta e fagioliLamon · Nobody knows · 219k searches a month

Beans and small pasta stewed together until thick enough for a spoon to stand in. Italy's great peasant soup, made a hundred ways.

Bigoli in salsaVenice · Agreed by tradition · 82k searches a month

Thick, rough wholewheat spaghetti in onions melted slowly with salted anchovies or sardines. Sweet and salty, with no tomato and no cheese.

Spaghetti al nero di seppiaVenetian lagoon, Chioggia · Disputed · 56k searches a month

Jet-black spaghetti glossy with cuttlefish ink, tasting clean and briny of the sea. It stains teeth, which is part of the fun.

Casunziei all'ampezzanaCortina d'Ampezzo · Agreed by tradition · 5.6k searches a month

Half-moons with a shocking pink filling of beetroot and potato, under melted butter, poppy seeds and grated cheese. Earthy, sweet and very pretty.

Tortellini di ValeggioValeggio sul Mincio · Agreed by tradition · 3.9k searches a month

Tortellini so thin you can read through the pasta, filled with mixed braised meats, tied like a little knot. Locals call them the love knot.

Gargati al consieroVicenza · Agreed by tradition · 1.5k searches a month

Short ridged egg-pasta tubes in consiero, an old mixed-meat ragù that changes with the seasons. A rustic feast dish, long forgotten and now coming back.