Italian cuisine, highly esteemed, sought out and imitated around the world, derives its rich tradition from the variety and diversity of its products and styles of preparation. In a land divided into 20 regions, each with its own distinctive terrain, climate and history, it is perhaps not surprising that very different culinary traditions have developed between the north and the south of Italy. It is extremely diverse, yet with a common denominator: grain, flour and pasta. Academia Barilla, in its promotion of Italian Gastronomical Culture, cannot but dedicate this work to its principal national dish: pasta. The collection revisits familiar Italian territory with 222 pasta recipes: fresh, with egg, dried, stuffed, long, and short...from the Val d'Aosta to Sicily in the search for the best flavours and age old traditions. Conceived in this way, it is, though, always new. SELLING POINTS: ? The most comprehensive and authentic past cookbook ever published ? Can be marketed to food programs on tv radio, food magazines, culinary institutes, Italy-related societies and tourist outfits and authentic Italian restaurants ? Compiled by the prestigious Academia Barilla, proprietors of the world-famous cooking school in Parma, which preserves and promotes the Italian gastronomic traditions (www.academiabarilla.it) AUTHOR: Academia Barilla launched in 2004 in Parma by the world's largest paster producer, is devoted to the preservation and promotion of the Italian gastronomic tradition through courses taught by renowned chefs, gastronomic tours, the hosting of meetings and culinary laboratories with noted specialists and the publication of books like these. ILLUSTRATIONS: 363 photos