“Ziti” means brides in the southern Italian dialect, and a deep dish of baked pasta is a regular appearance at big celebrations like weddings. This plain tubular pasta is usually dressed up in a lot of cheese and marinara when it’s prepared as baked ziti.

Lumanche and its larger variant lumaconi are pasta varieties that are shaped like snail shells. They are similar to conchiglie, which are shaped like conch shells. Both shells are best served stuffed — just like you will be after eating.

Mafalda pasta — a long, wide, flat ribbon noodle with scalloped or ruffled edges — is said to have been invented upon the birth of Princess Mafalda of Savoy in 1902. The princess was the second daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and died during World War II. Mafalda pasta was likely created before its namesake princess's birth, but chefs and pasta makers across Italy renamed the delicate shape in her honor.

Capelli d'angelo, or angel's hair pasta, is the thinnest pasta shape of the spaghetti family, with each noodle having a thickness of less than one millimeter. The pasta's long, delicate strands are often formed into a nest shape and are best paired with light sauces, as the noodles will get lost in anything heartier.

In Italian, conchiglia means "seashell," which is an appropriate description for the pasta of the same name. Conchiglie, which resemble conch shells, are a popular pasta variety featured in sauce-heavy dishes. Their smooth inside fills up while their ridged outside clings to even more flavorful sauce. Also in the shell-shaped family of pastas are conchigliette, which are extra small, and conchiglioni, which are jumbo shells.

Whether or not they actually look like a belly button, tortellini are said to have been inspired by Aprhodite’s belly button, according to legend. Traditional tortellini is made of egg-based pasta sheets that are intricately rolled around a filling of minced prosciutto ham and parmesan cheese.

Cavatappi is a small, tubular, spiraling pasta variety that looks like a corkscrew and has the name to match. Originated in southern Italy, cavatappi is made without eggs but still retains a golden color. Generally, cavatappi is made with small ridges lining its exterior, making it the perfect pasta to absorb sauce.

In Italian, farfalle translates to "butterfly," though it is more commonly known as "bowtie pasta" in the United States. Vermicelli's name comes from the Italian words for "little worms," which is apt due to the thin, spaghetti-like shape of the noodles. Though neither of these translations seem particularly appetizing, they certainly are descriptive.

While Thomas Jefferson neither invented the dish nor first brought it to the United States, the third U.S. President's fondness for macaroni and cheese no doubt helped it to become the American staple it is today. In 1790, Jefferson received a mould for making macaroni (procured in Naples) at his Philadelphia residence and used it regularly, even writing some recipes for pasta dishes. Though he often receives credit for this popularization, much recognition should be attributed to his enslaved chef, James Hemmings, who expertly learned to cook the new food.

The addition of Calabrian chilis is what gives penne arrabbiata its hot temper. “Arrabbiata” means angry in Italian, and you might be angry, too, if you weren’t expecting the heat of this spicy dish, which originated in Rome.

In 1967, Italy passed a so-called "pasta purity" law, requiring all pasta manufactured within its borders to be made specifically with durum wheat. The grain creates pasta that is firmer than other wheat varieties, though it is also more expensive. In the 1980s, the country sought to crack down even further on non-durum pasta, attempting to ban all imports that didn't adhere to perfect pasta purity. That ruling was overturned by the European Economic Community's Court of Justice, but true, home-grown Italian pasta is still only made with durum wheat.

One of the most common pasta shapes is the spiral, which includes specific variations like fusilli, gemelli, and rotini. Fusilli are composed of three small wings elegantly spun together. Gemelli, which means "twins" in Italian, are made of two strands of pasta twisted together. Rotini, (“twists” in Italian) are two-inch-long spirals of pasta from northern Italy. These classic spiral shapes help hold sauce and cook well to a perfect al dente texture.

Italy's Emilia-Romagna region is the home of egg pasta, also known as pasta all'uovo in the local language. According to the area's traditions, one egg should be used for every 100 grams of flour to achieve the perfect dough, which can also include a bit of olive oil for extra elasticity. Pasta all'uovo is then often shaped into tagliatelle, fettuccine, or lasagna, and is used in dishes like carbonara and pasta bolognese.

Gnocchi got their unusual name from “nocca,” the Italian word for knuckle. The knobby morsels are part dumpling and part pasta, combining mashed potatoes with flour. Gnocchi are traditionally striped with the tines of a fork to add extra nooks and crannies for the sauce to sneak in.

Italian pasta shapes often have strange and interesting names, and one of the best examples is linguine. The long, flat pasta strands take their name from the Italian word meaning "little tongues." Originated in the Italian region of Liguria, linguine was created to accompany traditional pesto sauces, but has been adapted for a variety of dishes, making it one of the most versatile and popular pasta shapes.

There are a few competing theories about the origins of Italian pasta, but the most accepted version is that the Arab invasions of the eighth century brought an early proto-pasta product to the island of Sicily. The dried noodle was made using flour from durum wheat, which Sicily specialized in, allowing it to evolve and expand to the rest of Italy. The first literary reference to Italian pasta was written about an export factory in Sicily in 1154.

Early versions of ravioli can be traced back to the Roman Empire, but it wasn't until the Middle Ages that the modern version of ravioli was developed in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. There, the traditional recipe calls for stuffing the pasta with ricotta cheese and spinach. The classic sheep's cheese is still one of the most popular ingredients to pair with ravioli.

Orecchiette pasta was first created in Italy's Puglia region in the 12th or 13th century, and from there it spread across the country and eventually the world. Along with their iconic shape and accompanying recipes, orecchiette brought with them a bit of the Italian language. The word means "little ears," a name it gets from its otic outline.

Orzo is Italy's most famous rice-shaped pasta and is used most traditionally in soups. Though it is most recognizable as a rice lookalike, orzo's name actually refers to another grain, barley, in its Italian translation. That's why the pasta is sometimes referred to as "risoni" in Europe, which means "large rice" in Italian.

The name “spaghetti” comes from the Italian word for twine or string, and the noodle is by far the most popular pasta shape in the world, accounting for two-thirds of all shapes produced. Despite its ubiquity, spaghetti didn't appear in Italian cuisine until the early 1800s, as it needed specialized extruding machines to achieve the necessary skinny strands.