Carbonara is spaghetti or rigatoni tossed off the heat with egg yolks, grated pecorino romano, crisp cubes of guanciale (cured pork cheek) and a lot of black pepper, so the egg turns into a silky sauce without scrambling.

Pizzoccheri are short, flat ribbons of pasta made mostly with buckwheat flour, which gives them a grey-brown colour.

Pesto alla genovese is a cold sauce of Genovese basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmigiano and pecorino sardo.

Cacio e pepe is pasta, usually tonnarelli or spaghetti, tossed with grated pecorino romano and a lot of black pepper, made creamy with the starchy pasta water.

Amatriciana is a pasta sauce of guanciale, cured pork cheek, cooked with tomato, pecorino, black pepper and a little chilli, usually served with bucatini or spaghetti.

Spaghetti alle vongole is spaghetti cooked with fresh clams, olive oil, garlic, parsley and sometimes chilli and white wine.

Orecchiette, "little ears", are small, round, slightly hollow pieces of pasta made by hand from durum wheat semolina and water.

Pasta alla Norma is pasta with tomato sauce, fried aubergine, basil and grated ricotta salata.

Culurgiones are Sardinian filled pasta, closed with a distinctive pleat that looks like an ear of wheat.

Agnolotti del plin are tiny filled pasta from the Langhe and Monferrato hills of southern Piedmont.

Tajarin is the Piedmontese word for tagliolini, very thin egg noodles cut by hand.

Casoncelli, casonsèi in local dialect, are filled pasta from Bergamo and Brescia, folded into a half-moon and pressed in the middle so they look like small sweets.

Tortelli di zucca are the signature pasta of Mantua: squares of fresh egg pasta filled with roasted pumpkin, crushed amaretti biscuits, mostarda of fruit in mustard syrup and Parmigiano, then dressed with melted butter.

Strangolapreti, "priest stranglers", are green dumplings from Trento made from stale bread soaked in milk, spinach or wild chard, eggs and flour, boiled and served with melted butter, sage and grated Grana.

Bigoli are thick, rough spaghetti from the Veneto, pressed through a hand press called a torchio, and bigoli in salsa is their most famous dish.

Cjarsons are the filled pasta of Carnia, the mountain area of northern Friuli, and they have one of the strangest fillings in Italy.

Trofie are short, twisted pasta from the coast east of Genoa, around Camogli and Recco.

Tagliatelle al ragù is Bologna's own dish: long ribbons of fresh egg pasta with a slow-cooked meat sauce of beef and pork, soffritto of onion, carrot and celery, a little tomato, wine and milk, simmered for hours.

Pici are thick, uneven noodles rolled by hand from flour and water, a specialty of the province of Siena and of the Val d'Orcia and Val di Chiana.

Strangozzi are long, square-edged noodles of flour and water from Spoleto and the hills of southern Umbria.

Gricia is pasta with guanciale, the cured pork cheek, pecorino romano and black pepper.

Maccheroni alla chitarra are square-edged egg noodles from Abruzzo, cut on a tool called the chitarra, "guitar": a wooden frame strung with steel wires.

Cavatelli are small shell-shaped pasta of durum wheat and water, made by pressing a piece of dough with one or two fingers and dragging it across a board so that it curls into a hollow.

Genovese is a Neapolitan pasta sauce, not from Genoa: a huge quantity of onions and a piece of beef cooked together very slowly for hours until the onions melt into a sweet, golden cream.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca are made with a quick sauce of tomatoes, black olives, capers and garlic, and in many versions anchovies and chilli.

Fileja are long, hollow pasta from the province of Vibo Valentia, made by rolling a strip of durum wheat dough around a thin iron rod or a stick of reed, then sliding it off.

Pasta con le sarde is a pasta dish from Palermo with fresh sardines, wild fennel, salted anchovies, raisins, pine nuts and saffron, topped with toasted breadcrumbs instead of cheese.

Fregula is a Sardinian pasta of small balls of durum semolina, rolled by hand in a large terracotta bowl, dried and then toasted in the oven, which gives it a nutty taste.

Malloreddus are small ridged gnocchi of durum semolina from Sardinia, often flavoured with saffron, which grows in the area of San Gavino Monreale.

Ramen arrived with Chinese cooks.

In Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu on the old Silk Road, a bowl of beef noodles is breakfast.

Pad thai is younger than many people think.

Khao soi is the noodle soup of northern Thailand: egg noodles in a coconut curry broth, topped with a nest of crispy fried noodles and served with pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime.

Bún chả is Hanoi's lunch: grilled pork, both patties and slices of belly, served in a bowl of warm fish-sauce dressing with pickled papaya, alongside cold rice noodles and a basket of herbs.

Laksa is a family of spicy noodle soups born from Peranakan cooking, where Chinese settlers and Malay cooks mixed their kitchens.

Beef noodle soup, niúròumiàn, is Taiwan's signature noodle dish: thick wheat noodles in a deep broth of slowly braised beef, often red-braised with soy sauce, chilli bean paste and spices, topped with greens and pickled mustard.

Mohinga is a soup of rice noodles in a broth of fish, often catfish, cooked with lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots and the stems of banana trees, thickened with roasted chickpea flour or rice.

Ohn no khao swè means coconut-milk noodles: wheat noodles in a curried chicken broth made with coconut milk and thickened with chickpea flour.

Num banh chok, often called Khmer noodles, is fresh rice noodles served with a green fish gravy made from lemongrass, turmeric and kaffir lime, topped with fresh herbs, banana flower, cucumber and beans.

Kuy teav is rice noodle soup in a clear broth of pork bones, with pieces of pork, meatballs, offal or seafood, and served with lime, chilli, bean sprouts and herbs.

Lagman is hand-pulled wheat noodles served with a stew of meat, peppers, tomatoes, onions and other vegetables, either in a broth or fried.

Khao piak sen, "wet rice strands", is a soup of thick, chewy noodles made from rice flour, often mixed with tapioca starch, cooked in a chicken or pork broth so the starch thickens it slightly.

Mantı are tiny dumplings of thin dough filled with spiced minced meat and onion, boiled and served with garlic yogurt, then drizzled with butter melted with red pepper and dried mint.

Rechta is a dish of very thin homemade noodles, steamed rather than boiled, served with a white sauce of chicken, chickpeas, turnips and courgettes, flavoured with cinnamon.