Stunning Historical Photos Show Pasta Production in the Past

Pasta has been an integral part of Italian cuisine for centuries. Some historical evidence conforms that first ever pasta was made and eaten in China and it dates back to 5,000 BC. The Italians have brought their pasta with them wherever they immigrated, so much so that today it can be considered a staple of international cuisine. Dried pasta was very popular by the 1300s due to its nutrition and long shelf life, making it ideal for long ship voyages. The voyages of discovery a century later brought pasta to every corner of the globe. During that time, new technology made making pasta in different shapes easier. Pasta became a part of Italian life thanks to these innovations.

Pasta products were first recorded in Italy in the 13th or 14th century. According to the Macaroni Journal, published by an association of food industries to promote pasta in the United States, Marco Polo imported pasta from China. In his book, Jeffrey Steingarten argues that Arabs introduced pasta to Sicily in the ninth century, adding that traces of pasta have also been found in ancient Greece and that Jane Grigson believes that Marco Polo was inspired by an advertisement from a Canadian spaghetti company in the 1920s or 1930s. The third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, is also credited with introducing pasta to America in 1789.

The word “macaroni” derives from the Sicilian phrase meaning to knead the dough vigorously, as early pasta making was a time-consuming, day-long process. Many Sicilian pasta recipes still include typical middle eastern ingredients, such as raisins and cinnamon, which may testify to their original, medieval origins. Originally a Sicilian staple, durum wheat thrives in Italy’s climate, spreading quickly to the mainland.

The pasta had been eaten for thousands of years before the invention of tomato sauce. Since tomatoes are not native to Europe, they were first introduced to the continent by Spanish explorer Cortez in 1519. Pasta and tomatoes soon became an iconic combination in Italy, and meatballs followed quickly after

Here are some historical photos that show how pasta was produced in the past.

#1 Italian boys hanging hand-made pasta in the traditional way, Italy, 1920s

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#2 Workers hanging macaroni out to dry, 1929

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#3 Boys carrying racks of spaghetti to be hung out to dry

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#4 Italy Campania Salerno. Food preparation of Macaroni, drying the Macaroni in the courtyard, 1928

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#5 Pasta drying outside a small macaroni factory, Italy, July 1925.

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#6 A group of women making macaroni by hand, Italy, 1925

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#7 Strands of macaroni being hung out to dry, Naples, Italy, 1925.

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#8 Goodman Macaroni Factory noodle cutting machine.

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#9 Schumann-Heink, Ernestine, german singer, making pasta, 1900s

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#10 Italian emigrants of the early twentieth century. Pasta factory in New York, 1905.

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#11 Pasta factory in Italy, 1903

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#12 Making of Spaghetti in Italy

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#13 The wet dough, coming out of the machine, is cut and left to dry, during the manufacture of spaghetti, in Italy.

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#14 Kneading dough with feet when making pasta in Italy.

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#15 Young boys carry poles of spaghetti into a factory yard for drying, 1920s

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#16 Making Macaroni in Russia, 1920s

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#17 Alex Federici, making pasta in his Leichhardt shop, “Buon Appetito Products”, 1983

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#18 Alex Federici, making pasta in his Leichhardt shop, “Buon Appetito Products”, 1983

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#19 Pasta maker: Gerry Mamone demonstrates pasta-making on a pasta machine for a special Italian dinner.

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#20 Miguel Aguas working in his Shop, Pasta House at Leichhardt where they make Pasta fresh in the shop, 1981

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#21 Lasagna noodles Pietro La Franco puts on a drying rack in a Toronto factory, 1970s

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#22 Woman Making Pasta at Piperno Restaurant, 1980s

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#23 Pasta factory “Bonita”, 1969

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#24 Pasta factory “Bonita”, 1969

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#25 Pasta factory “Bonita”, 1969

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#26 Pasta factory “Bonita”, 1969

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#27 Pasta factory “Bonita”, 1969

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#28 Pasta factory “Bonita”, 1969

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#29 A man examines spaghetti at the Buitoni pasta factory in Sansepolchro, Italy.

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#30 Women sort pasta in the Buitoni pasta factory in Sansepolchro, Italy.

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#31 Miss Vivian Mercieca of Campsie after in has been through the new automatic press.

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#32 The harvesting of spaghetti from a ‘vine’ on the ceiling of Lo Spiedo, an Italian restaurant in central London, 22nd September 1961.

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#33 Woman Feeding Dough into a Machine. Passing through mechanical channels, the future bread sticks resemble thick spaghetti as they begin to take on an elongated appearance.

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#34 Zelda Albano cuts spaghetti into lengths as it emerges from a machine at Mess’ L Ugo Ltd, a pasta making factory in Holloway, London, 1955

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#35 Mr Michael Pino operates a ravioli-making machine at Messrs L Ugo Ltd, London, 1955. The factory specialises in all types of pasta and rivals the imported pastas from Italy.

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#36 A woman holding strands of pasta, Italy, 1955.

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#37 A worker placing spaghetti on a drying rack before it is transferred to a dryer, Italy, 1955

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#38 Mr Martinez feeds a length of pasta into a macaroni-making machine at Messrs L Ugo Ltd, London.

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#39 A spaghetti shop, the shelves filled with spaghetti, 1950s

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#40 Pasta store in Naples, 1954

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#41 Spaghetti drying on racks, known as ‘spaghetti horses’, on a beach near Amalfi, Italy, September 1949.

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#42 A worker for Atlantic Macaroni Company, makers of Caruso brand products, hanging spaghetti to dry, 1943

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#43 A worker at the Atlantic Macaroni Company, makers of Caruso brand products, keeping the chute clear of finished macaroni in Long Island City, New York, 1943

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#44 Processing of potatoes in pasta factory, 1941

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#45 Processing potatoes in a pasta factory, 1941

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#46 Macaroni Factory Workers with their Product

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#47 A chef making tagliatelle at King Bomba’s, one of the largest Italian shops in Soho, London, 1939

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#48 Eugenio Celoria making tagliatelli in his shop, King Bomba’s, in Soho, 1939

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#49 Lengths of pasta are cut into strips by machine in Recchioni’s restaurant ‘King Bomba’ in London’s Soho, 1939

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#50 Pasta machine at the fair of the hotel and restaurant industry in Berlin, 1936

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#51 Young Men and Boys Drying Macaroni

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#52 Spaghetti production Carrying spaghetti through the small town of Torre Annunziata, the center of the local spaghetti production, 1932

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#53 Neapolitan boy carrying a bundle of spaghetti on his shoulder, 1932

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#54 Spaghetti production Workers hanging spaghetti over bamboo sticks to dry them, 1932

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#55 Spaghetti production Two men carrying spaghetti on a bamboo stick to dry them, 1932

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#56 Macaroni being hung to dry so that it may be sold in the market where the people are standing.

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#57 Spaghetti production Packaging spaghetti, 1932

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#58 Spaghetti production Two boys packing spaghetti; in the background Mount Vesuvius, 1932

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#59 Neapolitan boys carrying a bundle of spaghetti on their shoulders; in the background Mount Vesuvius, 1932

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#60 Neapolitan boy carrying two bundles of spaghetti in Italy, 1932

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#61 Neapolitan boy carrying a bundle of spaghetti on his shoulder, 1932

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#62 Spaghetti production Carrying spaghetti on a bamboo stick to dry them, 1932

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#63 Three Neapolitan boys carrying a bundle of spaghetti, 1932

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#64 Spaghetti production Hanging up spaghetti to dry them; in the background Mount Vesuvius, 1932

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#65 Spaghetti production Hanging up spaghetti, 1932

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#66 Spaghetti manufacturing machine in Italy, 1932

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#67 Spaghetti production Drying and hanging up spaghetti in Italy, 1932

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#68 Spaghetti production Worker bending (dried) spaghetti with a stick, 1932

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#69 Drying Macaroni, 1930.

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#70 A young boy carrying strings of pasta in a macaroni factory in Naples, Italy. 1929

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#71 Two men operating a pasta making machine, the man at the bottom cutting off lengths of pasta, in Naples.

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#72 Drying vermicelli, 1928.

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#73 Strands of macaroni being hung out to dry, Italy, 1925.

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#74 A worker making macaroni in Russia, 1923

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#75 Packaging at the end of spaghetti production in Italy.

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