Pasta didn’t actually begin in Italy. Long before that, people in different parts of the world were already mixing flour and water to create simple noodles. Archaeologists even found 4,000-year-old noodles in China, proving that pasta-like foods existed long before modern Italian cuisine. In ancient Rome, people ate a dish called lagana—thin layers of dough that were baked or fried, similar to an early version of lasagna. Later, during the Middle Ages, Arab traders spread dried pasta throughout the Mediterranean, especially in Sicily, where it was easy to store and transport. By the 1800s, cities such as Naples were making pasta on a large scale and sending it across the world. From ancient noodles to a worldwide comfort food, pasta eventually became one of the most loved dishes in history.
