Nothing is more classic Italian than a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce sprinkled with parmesan cheese. It is the premier Italian dish, especially in the eyes of foreigners who don’t know many other Italian recipes. In general, pasta is a culinary symbol par excellence of Italian identity. Eating pasta is the number one Italian experience that anybody can carry out today in the world with the availability of the right, genuine ingredients. 

Cooking Italian starts with ingredients but, above all, it relies on recipes. There are more than 350 types of pasta that can be fresh or dried, rolled or filled. Each shape is suitable for more than one recipe. Individual cities and rural areas contribute their classic pasta dishes. “Each shape, each preparation has its history,” writes Massimo Montanari in A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce, a book published by Europa Editions that inquires into pasta’s origins.