Today is World Pasta Day: the day of pasta, symbol of Italian excellence and also of the world that is starting again. To take a look at the numbers concerning this phenomenon, 2021 shows a constantly growing trend worth about 17 million tons of spaghetti consumed. What makes pasta unique is its ability to intercept those trends that see the global consumer more and more attentive to a sustainable diet, both humanly and economically.

And if it is true that for the 4th consecutive year, the U.S. News & World Report has elected the Mediterranean Diet as the best diet in the world for 2021, then the fortune of pasta and of the fundamental values it conveys has gone well beyond the fashions and commonplaces about our country. And today, a solidarity race involving pasta is underway in Italy.

With the hashtag #Haveagoodpasta, pasta lovers all over Italy are donating a plate of pasta to the less fortunate and documenting it on social media. Each photo of pasta shared on social media contributed to a total of 300,000 meals in an online counter. As many will be donated to Caritas soup kitchens in four major Italian cities: Milan, Rome, Naples and Palermo. A sort of spaghetti at a distance, as the pandemic has accustomed us to being, yet able to unite everyone in solidarity.