Pre-drying and mechanical agitation device for the production of pasta comprising: - a containment structure , provided with an inlet opening and an outlet opening for pasta ; - agitation and transport means , suitable for mechanically agitating pasta , transporting it at the same time from said inlet opening to said outlet opening ; - heating means , suitable for heating an air flow that passes through them; - ventilation means , suitable for generating one or more air flows which pass through said heating means and said agitation and transport means , and then, at least in part, return cyclically in said ventilation means , wherein said ventilation means comprise a delivery region , from which said one or more air flows exit, and a suction region , through which at least part of said one or more air flows cyclically re-enters said ventilation means ; characterized in that - suction and expulsion means of the air contained in said support structure and/or of the air exited from said outlet opening ; - selective introduction means of air from the outside to the inside of said containment structure , through said inlet opening , configured to define an at least partial barrier to the entry of further air, excluding the one introduced by said selective introduction means themselves, through said inlet opening ; - a bypass conduit which puts said delivery region of said ventilation means in fluid communication with said inlet opening , bypassing said agitation and transport means and said heating means , wherein said bypass conduit is defined between an internal surface of said containment structure and a wall of a containment case , internal to said containment structure , which at least partially contains said agitation and transport means and said heating means . - a containment structure , provided with an inlet opening and an outlet opening for pasta ; - agitation and transport means , suitable for mechanically agitating pasta , transporting it at the same time from said inlet opening to said outlet opening ; - heating means , suitable for heating an air flow that passes through them; - ventilation means , suitable for generating one or more air flows which pass through said heating means and said agitation and transport means , and then, at least in part, return cyclically in said ventilation means , wherein said ventilation means comprise a delivery region , from which said one or more air flows exit, and a suction region , through which at least part of said one or more air flows cyclically re-enters said ventilation means ; characterized in that - suction and expulsion means of the air contained in said support structure and/or of the air exited from said outlet opening ; - selective introduction means of air from the outside to the inside of said containment structure , through said inlet opening , configured to define an at least partial barrier to the entry of further air, excluding the one introduced by said selective introduction means themselves, through said inlet opening ; - a bypass conduit which puts said delivery region of said ventilation means in fluid communication with said inlet opening , bypassing said agitation and transport means and said heating means , wherein <EOS>