意大利面如今是享譽世界的美食。多種多樣的烹調方式讓人們對它愛不釋手。在享用美味的意大利面的時候，你有沒有想過它是如何起源的？下文就為您介紹一下它的歷史。

Pasta is a basic staple to Italians, like rice to Chinese. It is estimated that Italians eat over sixty pounds of pasta per person per year. But how pasta was created and became the staple food of Italy?

There are mainly two versions about pasta's history. One states that Venetian merchant Marco Polo brought back pasta from his journeys in China; while another version states that Polo discovery was actually a rediscovery of a foodstuff that was once popular in Italy in Etruscan and Roman times. There is evidence shown that pasta was originally an Etrusco-Roman noodle called "lagane", which was cooked in an oven instead of being boiled. In 8th century, as Arab invasions and immigrants came to Italy, this kind of food and its cooking methods were greatly influenced. Its shape varied, its recipes diversed, and it began to have different types. This early pasta became to be an ideal staple for south Italy (or Sicily) and it easily spread to the mainland. During the 13th and 14th century, with new technology, pasta was much easier to be made; it gradually became part of Italian life. As dried pasta was very popular for its nutrition and long shelf life, it was ideal for long ship voyages and was sent around the globe during the voyages of discovery. Pasta then began to be widely used. With the introduction of tomatoes, Italians amazingly found the perfect match between them and added a new taste to pasta.

Nowadays, when we go to the supermarket, we can see pasta in different shapes. Generally, people classify pasta into the following: tubes(such as macaroni), strands(such as spaghetti), ribbons(such as fettuccine) and shapes(such as conchiglioni). Pasta is usually boiled with sauce such as tomato sauce. However, it can also be cooked in an oven( such as fettuccine) or made soup(such as Lumachine) and salad(such as Fusilli). It isn’t that amazing?

Macaroni: 通心粉

Spaghetti: 實心細面條

Fettuccine: 意大利寬面

Conchiglioni: 意大利貝殼粉

Lumachine: 陸馬齒納意大利粉

Fusilli: 螺旋通心粉

（中山大學通訊員吳海珠供稿 英語點津 Annabel 編輯）

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