If you search for the history of Italian pasta, you will come across dozens of versions. At Spizing, however, we prefer facts over fairy tales. We recommend reading the popular versions with a heavy dose of skepticism.
The truth is that various forms of pasta (a dried mixture of flour and water) appeared in different parts of the world between 8,000 BC and 3,000 BC. Pasta actually predates the appearance of leavened bread. It was born the moment humanity discovered grain and realized it could be turned into flour.
Ancient Egypt and the Birth of “Lana”
The first forms of “bread” from around 8,000 BC in Ancient Egypt were extremely thin baked flatbreads made of flour and water, similar to today’s corn tortillas or Indian chapati. Since baking was expensive, the poorer classes came up with an alternative: square cakes dried in the sun.
- Quern: This is what they called the baked flatbreads.
- Lana: The dried square cakes. Their name means “square sheet.”
These “lanas” became a primary method for storing flour throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In Persia, they evolved into thin dried sheets that were crumbled to thicken dishes—the precursor to our yufka and Mediterranean couscous.
The Etruscans, Rome, and the First Lasagna
It is not entirely clear how these dried sheets reached the Apennines, but it is a fact that around 1,000 BC, the Etruscan civilization (inhabiting today’s regions of Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria) was already producing a similar product made of spelt.
In the Roman Empire, this became a mass product called lagane. It was used to prepare a popular oven-baked dish consisting of layers of lagane and layers of meat and vegetables. Yes, exactly—this is the earliest form of lasagna.
The Boiling Revolution: From Jerusalem to Sicily
Until this point, pasta was baked or dried, but not boiled. The first records of pasta specifically intended for boiling come from Jerusalem around the 5th century. It describes the trade of dry pasta for boiling, offered to traveling merchants and seafarers.
The real “boom,” however, occurred in the 8th century when the Arabs conquered Sicily. They brought the technology for producing dry pasta for boiling, which spread lightning-fast across the entire peninsula. In Sicily, it was called macaroni, which translates to “hard-kneaded.”
Why has pasta survived for millennia?
The answer is simple: it is an ingenious method for preserving grain. From Egyptian sun-dried flatbreads to modern al dente, pasta remains the most beloved food in the world.