Italy is remarkably small when you consider just how many shapes of pasta thrive within it. At roughly 75% the size of California, the country contains dozens of regional dialects and indigenous languages, several millennia of art and architecture, and a staggering number of regional food traditions, some of which you’ll only find in a single village.

The variety of pasta types alone is enough to inspire a pilgrimage based solely upon pasta consumption, exploring all shapes and sizes. Even within a category, there’s variation: There are countless regional types of gnocchi, from Sardinian gnochetti to 'ndunderi, the ricotta and pecorino cheese gnocchi you’ll find on the Amalfi coast (per usual, the Pasta Grannies have a fantastic recipe for it).