Pasta and Local Specialities Across Italy

Alghero's pasta is Sardinian in shape and Catalan in seasoning: potato-and-mint culurgiones, toasted fregola with shellfish, malloreddus under a saffron sausage sauce. Here is what each one is and which old-town dining rooms and trattorias serve it.

Amalfi lemons are the pale, tapered sfusato Amalfitano, grown by hand on steep coastal terraces. Here is how they taste, which dishes to order in Amalfi, and how the consortium label helps you buy them.

Scialatielli allo scoglio in Amalfi town, ndunderi in Minori, colatura di alici in Cetara: the local pasta to order and the kitchens to order it in, village by village.

Pasta in Bellagio is a sit-down affair: trattorias and pizzeria-restaurants clustered on the stepped lanes and the road down to the water. Here are five addresses worth planning a lunch around, what format each one suits, and how ordering, coperto and the August crush change the experience.

Bergamo's pasta means casoncelli, stuffed crescents finished with butter and sage, and the older rafioli di Sant'Alessandro. This guide names the shapes, explains the fillings, and picks the osterie in Città Alta and Città Bassa where each one earns its plate.

Casoncelli are the filled pasta of Bergamo and Brescia: half-moon parcels of fresh egg dough around a savoury filling, finished with butter, sage and grana. Here is what is inside the Bergamo version, how the Brescia one differs, what the named variants mean on a menu, and how the dish fits a meal in Bergamo.

Bologna's best pasta is built on egg sfoglia rolled by hand: tortellini in brodo, tagliatelle al ragù, lasagne and gramigna. Here is what each shape is, how it arrives at the table and the pasta makers, trattorias and sfoglia schools to know in the city.

Mortadella Bologna is a cooked pork salume from Bologna, sliced thin and eaten cold. Here is what goes into it, what the IGP label protects, why the white pearls of fat belong there, and how to order it at a salumeria counter.

Tagliatelle al ragù is fresh egg pasta, roughly 8mm wide, dressed with a beef and pork sauce cooked for hours. Here is how to recognise the real thing, which Bologna trattorias to plan around, and how the bill works.

Cagliari's best pasta is Sardinian first: culurgiones, malloreddus and fregola with arselle. Here are the shapes to know and the kitchens serving them.

Malloreddus are small ridged semolina pasta shells from the Campidano plain, served across Cagliari with a sausage, tomato and saffron sauce and a dusting of pecorino. Here is what arrives on the plate, why they are not gnocchi, and which Sardinian pasta to try first.

Catania's best pasta comes down to a handful of dishes and a handful of tables. Here are the shapes and sauces that define the city, and the trattorias, osterie and market stalls where each one makes sense.

Pasta alla Norma is Catania on a plate: fried aubergine, fresh tomato, basil and grated ricotta salata over short pasta. Here is what goes into it, how the name ties to Bellini, how the dish is built, and where to order it in the city.

Pasta in Cefalù runs on seafood, aubergine and Sicilian cheese. Here are the plates worth ordering, the four kitchens that cook them well, and how to pick between a table on Piazza Duomo and a quieter room off the square.

Pasta has taken over central Como, from counter-service bowls to sit-down bistros and pastifici. Here are the addresses worth knowing, the sauces to order and what a lunch costs.

Pasta in Cortina shares the menu with mountain cooking, so the best bowls come from places that handle both. Here are the named spots on Corso Italia and beyond, with the pasta to order and how the bill works.

Casunziei are Cortina d'Ampezzo's signature pasta: thin fresh egg pasta filled with red beetroot and dressed with melted butter, Parmigiano Reggiano and poppy seeds. Here is what arrives on the plate, the variations to look for and where to buy them in town.

Genoa answers the pasta question twice over: trattorias in the vicoli serve pesto on silk handkerchief pasta and trenette with potatoes and beans, while the city's pastifici sell trofie, pansoti and corzetti to take home. Here is where each one fits into a day of eating.

Pesto in Genoa is a cold, uncooked sauce of basil, pine nuts, garlic and cheese, tossed with trofie or trenette, potatoes and green beans. Here is what goes into it, which pasta to ask for at each trattoria, and the addresses in the historic centre where it is treated as a serious dish.

Tordelli are the pasta that puts Lucca on the map: meat-filled parcels served with a rich sauce. This guide explains the local shapes, the fresh pasta sold at Pastificio Artigiano La Sfoglia d'Oro on Via Sant'Anna, and how a hands-on lasagne class in a Lucca home kitchen works.

Tordelli lucchesi are half-moon pasta parcels from Lucca stuffed with mixed meats, bread soaked in broth and herbs, then dressed with a tomato meat ragù. Here is how they differ from tortelli, what goes into the filling and why they belong to Sunday lunch.

Modena's pasta is fresh egg pasta: tortellini, tagliatelle al ragù, pumpkin tortelli and lasagne, served in family trattorias where a plate of pasta is the point of the meal. Here are the shapes to ask for and the tables known for them.

Pecorino di Pienza is a sheep's milk cheese from the hills between Pienza and Montepulciano, sold fresh, semi-aged and aged. Here is how the forms differ, which matured versions to look for, and how to buy it for a picnic or to take home.

Pici are thick, hand-rolled Tuscan pasta made from flour, water and salt, dressed with ragù toscano, aglione or cacio e pepe. Here is what to expect on the plate, how to order, and where to eat them outside Montepulciano's walls.

The best pasta in Noto comes in two speeds: multi-course tasting menus at Vicari and Crocifisso, and single plates of paccheri alla Norma or spaghetti with sardines at Cassaro Bistrot. This guide names the venues, the dishes to order and how the primo fits into a Noto meal.

The best pasta in Olbia is the inland repertoire: maccarones de busa with wild boar sauce and malloreddus alla campidanese with tomato, sausage and saffron. Here is what each dish is, where to order it on Via Galvani, and why the pork and cured meats deserve your attention before the fish.

For a fast, comforting bowl in central Padua, head to Pastasuta under the Sotto il Salone market, where you pick a fresh pasta shape and a sauce and it is cooked to order. Sugo covers the takeaway case, and bigoli is one of the fresh shapes on the Pastasuta counter to look out for.

Bigoli is the Veneto's thick, rough-surfaced fresh pasta, said to have been devised in Padua. This guide explains how it is made, how it compares with spaghetti and bucatini, which sauces to order with it, and how it fits into a meal in a Paduan trattoria.

Anolini are Parma's small round stuffed pasta, made from egg pasta and a rich filling of Parmigiano Reggiano or stracotto, pot-cooked beef. They are most often served in brodo, a clear meat broth, and belong to Sunday and feast days. Here is what fills them and how to order them.

Parma's pasta is fresh egg pasta, and the two names to know are tortelli d'erbetta and anolini in brodo. This guide explains what fills each one, how it is dressed, which other shapes turn up on Parma menus, and where in the centre to sit down for a plate of pasta made in house.

Culatello di Zibello DOP is the Bassa Parmense's answer to prosciutto: a boned, hand-tied pork muscle aged in Po valley cellars and sliced paper-thin. Here is how it is made, how it differs from prosciutto crudo, what to look for on the label and how to serve it.

Prosciutto di Parma is a protected cured ham made in a defined zone of Parma province from just pork and salt, air-cured for at least 24 months. This guide explains why it tastes sweet, decodes the DOP rules, and shows how to order it in a panino, with figs and melon, or by weight at a salumeria counter.

Perugia's best pasta comes in three useful forms: a fresh pasta workshop with lunch bowls, a trattoria-pizzeria near the centre, and an osteria where pasta sits beside grilled meat. Here are the Umbrian shapes to look for and the dish to order at each.

Pisa's pasta scene rewards a short walk: trattorias on Via Lucchese, a quick plate near the Tower, and seafood plates out at Marina di Pisa. Here is where to sit down, what to order, and how primi, coperto and the bill work.

Scialatielli is the pasta to seek out in Positano, a short, thick ribbon built to hold seafood sauces. L'Incanto, Ristorante D'Aiello, Bagni da Ferdinando and La Tagliata serve it in four very different settings, from Spiaggia Grande to the hill village of Montepertuso.

Order scialatielli ai frutti di mare first: it is the Costiera's own pasta shape, thicker and shorter than spaghetti, dressed with mussels, clams, squid, prawns, parsley and local lemon. Lemon ricotta ravioli is the other plate to know. Here is where to eat both and how to read a Ravello menu.

Cappelletti are Romagna's hand-folded stuffed pasta, filled with cheese, egg and nutmeg and served in brodo or al ragù. Here is what arrives on the plate, how they differ from tortellini, and how to order them in Ravenna.

In Rimini, the pasta to seek out is the Romagna sfoglia: egg dough rolled wafer-thin and cut by hand into tagliatelle, pappardelle, tagliolini and lasagne. Here is what each shape suits, why the sfoglina's hand shows on the plate, and how to choose where to eat it.

San Gimignano's best pasta eating runs from a Tuscan osteria menu in the centre to a farm kitchen in the Chianti hills. Here are the dishes to order, the shapes to know and the one hands-on pasta hour worth booking.

Sirmione's pasta is lake pasta: bigoli with lavarello, tagliatelle with crisp pancetta and asparagus. Here is where to eat it, from old-town osterie to Lugana, and how each address's published per-person band compares.

Potato gnocchi, a quick tomato and basil sauce, fiordilatte and Parmigiano, baked until the top crusts and the cheese strings: that is gnocchi alla sorrentina. Here is what goes into it, why it carries Sorrento's name and how to get it right at home.

Pasta in Syracuse is a lunchtime habit and a dinner centrepiece, and the shapes and sauces you meet here are distinctly Sicilian. This guide covers what to order, where to sit down for a serious pasta course in Syracuse and nearby Noto, and how to handle coperto, cash and booking.

Pasta in Taormina is Sicilian cooking first: fresh maccheroni, aubergine in pasta alla Norma and seafood primi pulled from the Ionian. This guide names the shapes and sauces worth ordering and the osterie, bistrots and dining rooms where they turn up.

Trapani eats fish first, so the best pasta here means pesto trapanese with busiate and seafood primi rather than ragù. These are the dishes to know and the osterie, trattorias and one pizzeria worth planning around.

Busiate are western Sicily's corkscrew-shaped fresh pasta, rolled around a thin metal rod called a ferro. In Trapani they arrive under pesto alla trapanese, a raw sauce of tomato, almond, garlic and basil. Here is what the shape does, how the pesto differs from the Genovese version, and the variations you will meet.

Radicchio Rosso di Treviso IGP is a red chicory grown around Treviso in two types: Precoce, a tight head picked from 1 September, and Tardivo, long wine-red leaves forced in darkness and running spring water from 10 October. Here is how the two differ on the plate, when each is in season, and what to order or buy.

The best pasta in Trieste often arrives as a bread dumpling under gulash, a bean-and-sauerkraut soup-stew, or a plate of shellfish. Here are the local dishes, the osterie that serve them and how to order a proper Trieste lunch.

Two addresses stand out for pasta in Verona: a century-old family trattoria in the Valpolicella hills that hand-rolls lasagnette every day, and a modern counter near the Arena serving filled pasta you eat with your hands. Here is what each does, which dishes to order, and how to choose between a slow hillside lunch and a quick stop in the centre.

Italian cheese makes more sense when you group it by how it is made and eaten: hard wheels for grating, stretched-curd cheeses for eating fresh, washed rinds for melting. This guide covers the names you will meet on a counter or menu, what each tastes like, and which one to ask for.

Italian pasta shapes decoded: what the names mean, how dry pasta differs from fresh, which sauces cling to long strands and which get trapped in tubes and grooves, and the regional shapes you will meet in Liguria, Rome and Puglia.

Agnolotti are small filled pasta parcels from Piedmont, usually about 3cm across and sealed by pinching rather than pressing. Here is what goes inside them, what plin means, how they compare with ravioli and tortellini, and what to expect when you order them in Italy.

Amatriciana is Rome's tomato-and-cured-pork pasta, made with guanciale, tomato and pecorino and named after the town of Amatrice in Lazio. Here is what goes into it, how it differs from gricia, carbonara and arrabbiata, which pasta shape to expect, and how to order it without surprises.

Burrata is a pouch of stretched mozzarella filled with soft curds and cream, and the centre spills the moment you cut it. This guide covers what it is made from, why it is so rich, and how to serve and share it as an antipasto with olive oil, tomatoes and bread.

Canederli are the bread dumplings of Trentino-Alto Adige, built from stale bread, milk and egg with speck, cheese or herbs. They arrive either swimming in broth or drained and dressed with melted butter and cheese, and they are a filling main course rather than a side.

Cappellacci are Ferrara's signature fresh egg pasta: large hat-shaped parcels filled with baked pumpkin, Parmesan, breadcrumbs and nutmeg, dressed with ragù or with butter and sage. Here is what the dish is, where it comes from and how to eat it in the city.

Culurgiones are Sardinia's stuffed pasta from the Ogliastra mountains, filled with mashed potato, pecorino Sardo and mint and sealed into a wheat-ear shape. Here is what goes inside, how the fold works, and which sauce to expect on the plate.

Fregola is Sardinia's tiny toasted semolina pasta, rolled by hand into little balls and boiled in liquid until chewy. Here is how it is made, why it is toasted, how to cook it and the clam dish to order first.

Gorgonzola is Italy's great blue cheese, made from cows' milk in Lombardy and Piedmont and protected as Gorgonzola DOP. Sold as dolce or piccante, it ranges from soft and creamy to firm and sharp, and most of what you eat in Italy is uncooked.

Italian olive oil is judged on grade and flavour, not on the prettiest bottle. Here is what extra virgin means, how Tuscany, Puglia, Liguria and Sicily differ in character, which styles suit raw finishing and which suit the pan, and how to store a bottle so it stays fresh.

Italian truffles come in four main types, each with its own season and price tier. Here is what white Alba truffles, pregiato black and scorzone actually are, where they grow, and which dishes carry them best.

Mozzarella di bufala is the stretched-curd water-buffalo cheese that Italians simply call mozzarella, while the cow's-milk version is fior di latte. Here is where it is made, how it is shaped, what to order it with and how it behaves on pizza.

Parmigiano Reggiano is a protected hard cheese made from raw cows' milk in a defined slice of northern Italy. Here is what the name guarantees, how the cheese tastes at different ages, why the rind belongs in your soup pot and how to buy a cut that suits eating or grating.

Pecorino is not one cheese but a family of Italian sheep's-milk cheeses, named after pecora, the Italian word for sheep. Age decides almost everything: days-old Marzolino is mild and buttery, while a long-aged round turns hard, tangy and grateable. This guide covers the styles, the Tuscan PDO, the flavoured versions and what to say at the counter.

Sardinian bottarga is salted, pressed and sun-dried grey mullet roe, most associated with the Cabras lagoon on the west coast. Here is what it tastes like, why mullet beats tuna, and how it reaches the table as an antipasto or grated over spaghetti.