Penne
Penne () is an extruded type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces, their ends cut at an angle. "Penne" is the plural form of the Italian "penna" (meaning "feather" but "pen" as well), deriving from Latin "penna" (meaning "feather" or "quill"), and is a cognate of the English word "pen". When this format was created, it was intended to imitate the then-ubiquitous fountain pen's steel nibs. Origins. "Penne" is one of the few pasta shapes with a certain date of birth: in 1865, Giovanni Battista Capurro, a pasta maker from San Martino d'Albaro (Genoa), obtained a patent for  a diagonal cutting machine. His invention cut the fresh pasta into a pen shape without crushing it, in a size varying between "mezze penne" (half pens) and "penne" (pens). Description and variations. In Italy, "penne" are produced in two main variants: "penne lisce" (smooth) and "penne rigate" (furrowed), the latter having ridges on each penna. Pennoni ("big quills") is a wider version of penne. In English-language contexts, a version is called mostaccioli by various manufacturers, which may be either smooth or ridged in texture. Penne is traditionally cooked al dente and its shape makes it particularly adapted for sauces , such as pesto, marinara, or arrabbiata. The latter has been celebrated several times in Italian movies, notably in Marco Ferrari's "La Grande Bouffe" and Federico Fellini's "Roma".