With so much flavor combined with substance and simplicity, it’s no surprise that Italian food is a perennial winner in world-favorite cuisines. And the nation’s many and varied, delicious pasta dishes are largely the reason why.

As ever when it comes to food, Emilia Romagna has more than its fair share of tasty pasta specialties, and ‘fare la sfoglia’, or making the traditional deep yellow egg pasta dough, is considered a true art. Many of the region’s pasta shapes have curious stories or legends surrounding their origins, and all have a specific way of serving them in broth or with a particular sauce.