AGNOLOTTI a home-made ravioli-type pasta, but more doughy and often prepared with a ham, cheese and spice stuffing.

BUCATINI a long tube-like pasta which very much resembles a soda straw, hole included. Difficult to twirl around a fork.

CANNELLONI big rolls, that can be filled with any savory meat or cheese mixture, covered with sauce or bŽchamel (white sauce) and baked. In America they are often called "manicotti".

CANNOLICCHI a very short, tubular pasta, often used when preparing pasta and baked beans.

CAPELLI literally, hair. This is a very fine long spaghetti - type pasta.

CAPELLI D'ANGELO hard to envision, but even finer than capelli and is sold in little nest-like bunches, for use solely in soups.

CAPPELLETTI home-made tiny version of agnolotti with a similar stuffing.

CONCHIGLIE shells - in varying sizes.

FARFALLE butterflies or bows - in varying sizes.

FETTUCCINE a flat, long noodle made with flour and egg and resembling a small, narrow ribbon.

FUSILLI corkscrews shaped pasta, sometimes also know as Rotelle.

GNOCCHI potato and sometimes spinach dumplings

LASAGNE Extra wide, fairly heavy noodles, sometimes with crimped edges. The green version is made with pureed spinach.

LINGUINE similar to spaghetti but slightly fatter. Often accompanies seafood

MACARONI this is a generic term including any short, round or tubelike pasta.

MALFATTI pasta leftovers. In other words, broken pieces of fettuccine-type pasta

ORECCHIETTE tiny ears, from the Puglia region.

PAGLIA E FIENO literally, straw and hay. These are square-shaped tagliolini, always served with one strand green and one strand the usual pasta color.

PAPPARDELLE a wide (about 1 inch) ribbon-like home-made pasta that is often served with game sauce

PENNE a tubular macaroni of various sizes, with its ends cut on the diagonal. The pasta can be either smooth or ridged.

RAVIOLI square of half-moon, stuffed, home-made pasta.

REGGINELLE tagliatelle-type pasta whose edges are crimped.

RIGATONI a fat tubular pasta (about 2 inches long) mostly ridged, with even, rather than diagonally-cut edges.

SPAGHETTI a long string-like pasta

TACCONELLE home-made pasta, cut into flat diamond shapes.

TAGLIATELLE similar to fettuccine, slightly wider.

TAGLIOLINI a thinner version of tagliatelle and similar to capelli d'angelo, made into nest-like bunches.

TONNARELLI similar to spaghetti, but home-made and squared

TORTELLINI tiny noodle rings, stuffed with meat. A type of tiny ravioli.

TRENETTE a slightly flat, thinner version of linguine and as with linguine is often used with seafood.

VERMICELLI similar, but thinner than spaghetti; literally, little worms.

ZITI a wide, tube-like pasta sold in various lengths and can be either ridged or smooth surfaced.