Italian Pasta
The soul of Italian cooking - hundreds of shapes and regional sauces, from Roman carbonara to Bolognese ragu, each region fiercely proud of its own.
Updated 4 September 2026
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Pasta is the soul of Italian cooking, and its glory is variety: hundreds of shapes, each suited to a sauce, and a fierce regional pride in the classics. Rome has its carbonara, cacio e pepe and amatriciana; Bologna its rich ragu; the south its tomato and seafood pastas. Simple, fresh and regional, pasta is the daily poetry of the Italian table.
What you'll find
- Roman classics - carbonara, cacio e pepe and amatriciana.
- Bolognese ragu - the rich meat sauce of Emilia-Romagna.
- The many shapes - the hundreds of pasta forms matched to their sauces.
- The trattoria - the neighbourhood restaurant where pasta is best.
When to go
Year-round; lunch or dinner at a trattoria, ideally in the region whose classics you want to try. Fresh, handmade pasta is a treat worth seeking.
Good to know
Tourist-area restaurants can serve mediocre, overpriced pasta, so seek out a busy local trattoria. Italians are fiercely traditional about which sauce goes with which shape and how it is served. It is simple food where quality of ingredients and cooking is everything.
Nearby
Trattorias across Italy serve it; each region has its own proud specialities.
What to pack for Italian Pasta
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
- A reusable bag or container - For market produce and cutting down on packaging. Find on Amazon
- Wet wipes + hand sanitiser - Street food and washbasins do not always go together. Find on Amazon
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