Famous Italian pasta brands are quite aplenty! Which of them are the best? Find out in our handpicked list of the top famous pasta brands in Italy.
The staggering number of Italy’s famous pasta brands shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering il Bel Paese is the biggest producer and exporter of pasta around the globe, making over 1.43 million tons of pasta annually.
As a pillar of Italy’s cultural history, the country’s reputation for producing the best pasta is unparalleled.
However, Italy is not only the world’s biggest pasta producer, it is also the greatest consumer.
Did you know that every Italian eats up to an average of over 25 kg. per year? When put together in kilometers, the amount of spaghetti they consume per year is enough to wrap the Earth about 15,000 times. That is 600 million km. of this popular pasta type!
Simply put, pasta is synonymous with Italy.
From a simple strand, pasta has now evolved into various shapes, sizes, and even colors. Today there are around 600 different types of pasta, and more than 1300 different names have been authenticated.
If you are craving for a delicious pasta dish, don’t worry because we’ve got you a list of the top famous Italian pasta brands that can help you satisfy that craving.
13 Best Famous Italian Pasta Brands
Let’s have a look at the 13 most famous Italian pasta brands you can buy online or when you’re in Italy.
1. Granoro
Granoro Pastificio, one of the most popular pasta brands in Italy, was founded in 1967 by Attilio Mastromauro. Today, the plant produces more than 150 pasta shapes. And their pasta has variants, too: Granoro Dedicato and Bio Granoro.
Granoro Dedicato uses only Puglian wheat in its production. The company’s intention to increase the value of Puglia’s agricultural output inspired the production of Dedicato line of products.
Meanwhile, all the company’s products are made with consumers’ health in mind, resulting in a launch of a completely organic range of products called Bio Granoro.
2. Agnesi
Image Courtesy: Gruppo Colussi
The Agnesi brand is still one of the most famous pasta brands in Italy even after around 200 years. Grainy taste, sunny yellow color, and excellent resistance to cooking in over a hundred different shapes to please even the pickiest eaters.
Agnesi, led by the Colussi family, continues to be an international symbol of the family’s renowned principles. This tale of pasta-making expertise and devotion spans over two centuries, beginning in 1824 in Pontedassio, Italy.
Agnesi is a pasta brand of exceptional quality from the Ligurian area of northwest Italy, distinguished by its characteristically thin layers. This quality goes wonderfully with pesto, which is widely considered to be the best pasta sauce in Italy.
When compared to other types of Italian pasta, Agnesi promises a sufficient amount of proteins and a shorter cooking time.
3. Divella
Divella is among the most well-known Italian pasta brand names. Like Granoro, it has its origin in Puglia.
Since 1890, Divella has focused on making pasta from durum wheat semolina. The family business, which was founded in Rutigliano, a suburb in Bari, is now being run by its fourth-generation of heirs.
It is safe to say that Divella has become a national symbol for Italy. It is quite famous and sold all around the globe.
Divella processes 12,000 metric tons per day of durum wheat and 40,000 metric tons per day of soft wheat in its mills. Meanwhile, the pasta factory cranks out around 1,000 tons of dried pasta and 35 tons of fresh pasta every single day.
4. Rustichella d’Abruzzo
Rustichella d’Abruzzo makes the most marvelous packaged pasta with semolina flour and pure Apennine mountain spring water. It’s extruded through bronze dies for a rough, imperfect texture and air-dried at low temperature to further develop the aroma and flavor.
This artisan dried pasta is crafted in southern Italian region of Abruzzo and known for holding sauce beautifully. Must-try in the brand’s products is the Rustichella d’Abruzzo Bucatini.
5. Rummo
Every dish with Pasta Rummo is infused with a tradition of excellence spanning more than 150 years. It was in 1846 in the Southern Italian city of Benevento that Antonio Rummo first set up a shop with a mill to turn wheat into pasta.
The slow processing technique is the company’s backbone, owing to its roots in the past. High-quality Italian ingredients, a lengthy production time, and low-temperature drying give Rummo pasta its distinctive flavor and texture.
You can choose from a wide variety of pasta, including the classic forms, the whole bio, the professional line, egg pasta, baked pasta, and gluten-free pasta.
A recent addition, Pasta Rummo’s organic lines, which are made with Italian wheat and reach fibers, help save the planet.
6. La Molisana
La Molisana, home to a milling family for four generations, is Italy’s fifth-largest pasta producer and a top export for Italy to more than 80 countries. Their pasta production facility is situated on a mountain in the heart of Molise.
Stone debranning is their specialty; it thoroughly cleans each grain without altering any of its natural characteristics.
The water used in production, which is sourced from the region’s groundwater, has a number of desirable qualities. It is naturally low in sodium and nitrate. It is relatively light, with a low fixed residue and nitrate content.
And the reason why La Molisana pasta is so fine is that it has a high protein level to keep its form and structure after cooking. It also has a great yellow color to make it visually appealing and a high gluten content to withstand the cooking process.
7. Garofalo
Pasta Garofalo guarantees the highest quality by using only the finest grains in all of its products, from the most classic to the most innovative designs.
Since 1789, Garofalo has been made in Gragnano – a town whose climate and other environmental factors make it ideally suited for producing premium pasta. Since then, the pasta factory’s success has been nearly unstoppable across the centuries.
Now, Garofalo has technological advancements and certifications that have assured its success in international markets like Europe and Japan.
Garofolo uses the finest wheat, which originates from a variety of locations throughout the world, including Australia, Arizona, and some regions of Italy. Drying temperatures range from 40 to 80 degrees, and none of the grains used are dried prematurely.
8. Voiello
Over the course of more than 130 years, the name Voiello has become inseparable from premium pasta. Though new technologies emerged, old methods are never discarded.
Because of its meticulous selection of wheat, the firmness and compactness of the dough, and the bronze drawing, Voiello pasta continues to be among the best and most famous pasta brands in Italy.
Golden wheat, one of the most expensive types of wheat ever, was opted for in this recipe due to its high protein content. This type of wheat is grown and ground exclusively in Italy.
Voiello claims to be the authentic way to eat pasta like a local and enjoy a little sunshine from Italy. It offers a wide selection of pasta types as well authentic Italian salami and cheeses.
9. De Cecco
De Cecco is among the most popular Italian pasta brands, not just in Italy but also overseas. As of now, De Cecco is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of pasta.
Careful selection of the grains, blending with pure spring water, and the addition of a bronze drawing all help enhance the finished product. It is also high in protein, which ranges to 14%.
Semolina pasta, egg pasta, rice, gnocchi, flour, and organic items are all available now in the market. The selection is numerous. However, the cost is higher than other brands.
10. Pastificio Camp’ Oro
Pastificio Camp’ Oro is relatively new to the pasta market, established only in 1999 by a Molisano family of olive oil makers and wheat producers. They provide artisanal pasta that is made from the highest-quality durum wheat semolina, then bronze-cut and air-dried.
The Camp’Oro pasta factory is an artisan reality that was conceived in a small Molise village, Sant’Elia a Pianisi, from the deep love to their land and the desire not to abandon it, as well as to recover a tradition that has always belonged to this part of il Bel Paese. This tradition is kept alive through producing quality pasta according to the dictates of the ancient art of pasta-making.
Having doubts? Try the Camp’Oro Le Classiche Italian Spaghetti!
11. Pastificio Liguori
One of Italy’s oldest factories, Pastificio Liguori, has been making pasta for generations. It began in Gragnano, the “city of pasta” par excellence, back in 1795.
The finest durum wheat from Southern Italy and water from the Lattari Mountains Regional Park are mixed in together to make Liguori pasta. The spring water makes the distinctive taste of this famous pasta possible due to the specific properties it contains.
Pastificio Liguori has become one of the key producers on a national and international level in the past decade.
12. Barilla
Of course, our Italian pasta brands list won’t be complete without Barilla, one of the best pasta brands from Italy. It is said to be the most famous of all.
As a result of the company’s collaboration with the regional farmers, the supply chain has improved from a quality, environmental, social, and economic standpoint. The Barilla name is now recognized around the world as a hallmark of quality and craftsmanship that come only from Italy.
Barilla comes in a great variety of styles, and if you have no time to make your own sauce, they also have sauces ready for your pasta. The company is one of the biggest baked-goods sellers in Italy as well.
Given this pasta brand’s global popularity, the price tag is somewhat intriguing. On the label, Italian is used but not translated to any other language.
13. Pastificio Morelli
This Italian pasta brand from San Romano, Tuscany, is a 5th-generation Italian family business that produces the best-tasting pasta there is. This is thanks to the wheat germ, an ingredient not included in the products of other pasta brands in Italy.
Wheat germ is part of a wheat kernel that is responsible for aiding the plant in reproducing and spawning new wheat.
Pastificio Morelli creates its special pasta by incorporating the germ back into the flour before making the dough. The presence of wheat germ also makes Pastificio Morelli’s pasta slightly greenish in color.
The Morelli Pasta Factory was started by the Morelli family in 1860. After more than a century and a half later, the family continues to run the company, preserving its traditions of using the wheat germ ingredient to obtain a a unique and delicious pasta.
Pastificio Morelli is one of the best pasta brands in Italy. It can be bought at prestigious shops not only in il Bel Paese but abroad as well.