Italians take their pasta pretty seriously but nowhere more so than in the north Italian city of Bologna, the hometown – of course – of Bolognese sauce. Not only were tagliatelle and tortelllni invented here, but you’ll even find legal documents in the city’s Chamber of Commerce, dictating the exact width of tagliatelle and the correct recipe for tortellini.
So it’s no surprise that Bologna is the venue for an annual pasta-making competition, “il Matterello d’oro”: the Golden Rolling Pin. Held at a local television studio, participants from all over the region compete to roll out the best egg pasta dough in town.
(first broadcast on Inside Europe, Deutsche Welle Radio, 11th March, 2010)