Tagliatelle and tagliolini (from the Italian tagliare, meaning "to cut") are a traditional type of pasta

Pasta

Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...

 from Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

 and Marche

Marche

The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...

s, regions of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Individual pieces of tagliatelle are long, flat ribbons that are similar in shape to fettuccine

Fettuccine

Fettuccine is a type of pasta popular in Roman Cuisine. It is a flat thick noodle made of egg and flour wider than but similar to the tagliatelle typical of Bologna...

 and are typically about 0.65 cm to 1 cm (0.25 to 0.375 inches) wide. Tagliatelle can be served with a variety of sauce

Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...

s, though the classic is a meat sauce or Bolognese sauce

Bolognese sauce

Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce for pasta originating in Bologna, Italy. It is traditionally used to dress tagliatelle and is one of the two sauces used to prepare "lasagne alla Bolognese"...

. Tagliolini is another variety of tagliatelle that is long and cylindrical in shape, not long and flat.

Bavette are also available, and are thinner than tagliatelle; an even thinner version is Bavettine.

Origins

Legend has it that tagliatelle was created by a talented court chef, who was inspired by Lucrezia of Este's hairdo on the occasion of her marriage to Annibale II Bentivoglio

Annibale II Bentivoglio

Annibale II Bentivoglio was an Italian condottiero, who was shortly lord of Bologna in 1511–1512. He was the last member of his family to hold power in the city. He was the son of Giovanni II Bentivoglio....

, in 1487. In reality, this was a joke invented by humorist Augusto Majani in 1931.

The recipe was called tagliolini di pasta e sugo, alla maniera di Zafiran (tagliolini of pasta and sauce in the manner of Zafiran) and it was served on silver plates. Over the years, tagliatelle has become considered a more common food.

A glass case in the Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

 holds a solid gold replica of a piece of tagliatelle, demonstrating the correct dimensions of 1 millimetre by 6 millimetres.

Texture and serving suggestions

Since tagliatelle are generally made as fresh pasta, the texture is porous and rough, making it ideal for thick sauces, generally made with beef, veal, or pork, and occasionally with rabbit, as well as several other less rich (and more vegetarian) options; such as briciole e noci (with breadcrumbs and nut

Nut (fruit)

A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...

s), uovo e formaggio (with eggs and cheese - a less rich carbonara

Carbonara

Pasta alla carbonara is an Italian pasta dish based on eggs, cheese , bacon , and black pepper...

), or simply pomodoro e basilico (with tomatoes and basil).