The history of pasta.

Pasta has far distant origins on first becoming acquainted with cereals, man learned to mix flour with water and obtein strips or balls to cook over a stone and subsequently also to fry or boil. Pasta was already widespread among ancient peoples, althoug in a different form to that which we know today, but above all it found its elected country in Italy. At one time, beyond the borders of the "Bel Paese" (beautiful country) it was considered the food of the poor.

Over the last ten years so however there has been a progressive, even cultural revaluation. Recent studies have proved the great energetic value of this ingenious "invention", establishing it as a food rich in carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

But, if pasta, in its infinite variations, is an Italian food, who invented macaroni?

An old legend has it that spaghetti was created in the den of a magician living in Naples in the thirteen century, during the reign of Frederick II of Sweden.

It is said indeed that it was the great emporer himself who was the first to taste and appreciate this nourishing, delicious, and more or less economical food, making it known throughout the nation. And yet macaroni did not - it appears - originate in the city of Vesuvius. "Carta canta" (paper talks) - thy say in Genoa - exhibiting documents that prove their primogeniture: a deed of notary, Gianuino de Predono, dated 1244, contains the terms of a contract drawn up between a doctor and one of his patients: