The widely held belief that explorer Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy in 1295 upon his return from his famous journey to China, known as Cathay, is simply nonsense. This fabricated tale was likely concocted by a 20th-century advertising agency to boost pasta sales in America.

The truth is that a written reference to pasta in Sicily predates Polo’s travels by nearly 150 years, dating back to 1154. Furthermore, the use of pasta as a dietary staple can be traced back even further to ancient Rome.