Pasta Italia

"It will be the macaroni, I swear to you, that will unite Italy." That was Garibaldi's conviction in 1860, when he occupied Sicily. Sicilians had long been known as "mangiamaccheroni," the "macaroni eaters." From the 17th century onward, Neapolitans ate their macaroni, especially lazzaroni. These were characters who lived hand to mouth, basking in the sun like cats, content if they had enough money for their daily pasta. The spaghetti and vermicelli of that era were called macaroni and were sold by street vendors.