La Classifica — An Italian’s Guide to Dried Pasta

Le Storie — The Brands

S-Tier — L’Élite

These are the pastifici artigianali — the artisans. Small production, obsessive wheat sourcing, drying times measured in days, not hours. If you can find them, buy them.

S Benedetto Cavalieri

Maglie, Puglia · Founded 1918

Slow Food-certified pastificio using their proprietary “Metodo Delicato” — long kneading, slow pressing, and wheat from their own Apulian fields. The texture is unmistakable: rough, thick, almost meaty.

S Mancini

Le Marche · Founded 2010

A true pastificio agricolo — they grow all their own wheat. Each year’s pasta is essentially a vendemmia, like wine, blended differently with each harvest. The darling of Michelin-starred kitchens across Italy.

S Giuseppe Cocco

Fara San Martino, Abruzzo · Founded 1916

Nestled in the Maiella National Park, using pure mineral-rich spring water from the Fiume Verde. “Mastro Domenico” started at age 14 — four generations later, the same ancient machines still run.

S Rustichella d’Abruzzo

Penne, Abruzzo · Founded 1924

Slow-dried for up to 56 hours with Apennine spring water. The pastificio lay dormant for decades until the founder’s daughter Nicolina revived it in 1981, naming it “Rustichella” to honor its rustic roots.

S Monograno Felicetti

Predazzo, Trentino · Founded 1908

At the foot of the Dolomites — the only premium pastificio in northern Italy. The Monograno line uses single-origin organic heritage wheat: each pasta has its own terroir, like a good wine.

A-Tier — Eccellente

Excellent pasta. Many of these are Pasta di Gragnano IGP — carrying the protected geographic indication from the legendary pasta town near Naples. Bronze die, slow drying, serious producers.

A Rummo

Benevento, Campania · Founded 1846

Six generations of Lenta Lavorazione — slow crafting. The first pasta in the world with independently certified al dente performance. Nearly 180 years, family-owned.

A Liguori

Gragnano, Campania · Founded 1795

Over 225 years old. Gaetano Liguori received a concession to “fare e vendere maccheroni di buona qualità” — make and sell macaroni of good quality. First Gragnano producer with PGI certification.

A Delverde

Fara San Martino, Abruzzo · Founded 1967

Named after the Fiume Verde whose pure spring water feeds the dough. Shares the tiny town of Fara San Martino (population: 1,500) with De Cecco and Giuseppe Cocco — three pastifici, one miraculous river.

A La Molisana

Campobasso, Molise · Founded 1912

Four generations of the Carlone family, from the region Italians jokingly say “doesn’t exist.” Vertically integrated from wheat field to finished box. Il Molise esiste — and it makes excellent pasta.

A Pastificio Di Martino

Gragnano, Campania · Founded 1912

Giuseppe started as a 10-year-old apprentice in 1907. Within five years, he founded his own pastificio — the first shop you’d see when entering Gragnano. PGI certified, exported to 35+ countries.

A Armando

Flumeri, Campania · Founded 1993

The new guard. 850+ partner farmers, 100% Italian wheat, and the only pasta brand with a certified zero-pesticide-residue guarantee. Trafilata al bronzo, slow-dried, made with their prized Marco Aurelio variety.

B-Tier — Buona

Solid, reliable, widely available. You won’t be disappointed — but you won’t have a revelation either.

B De Cecco

Fara San Martino, Abruzzo · Founded 1886

Won the Chicago World Fair in 1893 for “superior manufacture.” Pioneered low-temperature drying. The world’s third-largest pasta producer — quality at scale, the best you’ll find in most supermarkets.

B Voiello

Torre Annunziata, Napoli · Founded 1879

Once the aristocracy’s pasta of choice in Naples. Teodoro was a maccaronaro — a traditional pasta artisan. Now owned by Barilla, but still bronze-extruded and distinctly Neapolitan in character.

C-Tier — Così Così

Acceptable. Does the job. Has a royal decree, though — which counts for something.

C Garofalo

Gragnano, Campania · Founded 1789

The oldest name on the list — Michele Garofalo received a Royal Decree from the Kingdom of Naples granting exclusive pasta production rights. PGI certified. Respectable history, but the quality hasn’t kept pace with the legends.

D-Tier — Sufficiente

It’s pasta. It cooks. It exists. When the only option is Barilla or no pasta at all, you eat the Barilla. Ma senza entusiasmo.

D Divella

Rutigliano, Puglia · Founded 1890

From a single wheat mill to 1,600 tons per day. Recognized as an Italian Historical Brand in 2022. Scale is impressive — but quantità non è qualità.

D Barilla

Parma, Emilia-Romagna · Founded 1877

The world’s largest pasta maker. Pietro started with a bread shop; now they produce millions of tons per year. Consistent, available everywhere, and — diciamolo — the baseline against which all others are measured.

Notes

• Trafilatura al bronzo (bronze die): Creates a rough, porous surface that sauces cling to. Industrial Teflon dies make pasta smooth — cheaper, faster, but the sauce slides right off.
• Essiccazione lenta (slow drying): Artisan pasta dries at 40–50°C for 24–56 hours. Industrial pasta blasts at 80–100°C for 2–3 hours. The difference: flavor, texture, and how it absorbs sauce.
• Gragnano IGP: The tiny town near Naples that has been the spiritual home of dried pasta since the 16th century. PGI-certified Pasta di Gragnano must be made there with specific production methods.
• This is one person’s ranking, from a very opinionated Italian. Your nonna may disagree. That’s fine. She’s probably right too.