Pasta in Italian, means any kind of dough, so that it also means 'pastry' in English. Although in this case there would usually be a qualifying adjective, as in pasta frolla, this is not the case when the context is quite clear. When the word pasta is used on its own it usually refers to what we call in English 'pasta' - spaghetti, macaroni, etc., and it is in this sense that it is being considered here.

There are two clues to the origins of pasta, one going back to the ancient Greeks and the other to the Etruscans, and they both lead to Rome. The Etruscan clue takes the form of a carving on a pillar in a large Etruscan tomb. The carving shows all the utensils for making pasta, neatly arranged together, including a jug for the water, a knife, a rolling pin, a large board with a raised edge for keeping the water in when mixing it with the flour, a flour bag for dusting the board, a ladle for adding the water and a pastry wheel. The Greek clue lies in the word laganon, which was a broad, flat cake made of dough and cut into strips. The Romans, who succeeded the Etruscans, used the word laganum to refer to what we call lasagne, and the word survives to this day in southern Italy, where lasagne are often called lagane and a rolling pin a laganatura.

Though pasta, then generically called vermicelli, was widely known to all at the time of the Renaissance, it remained a luxury food enjoyed only by the wealthy, or by others on special occasions.

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