How Pasta Was Made in the First Half of the 20th Century (18 photos)

Pasta—arguably Italy’s most iconic dish—dates back to 12th-century Sicily. For centuries, it remained an expensive luxury for the rich and privileged, and it wasn't until the 18th century that industrial manufacturing turned it into an affordable staple for everyday Italians. The mass migration of Italians to the United States in the early 20th century catapulted pasta to global fame, cementing its status as Italy's national dish.





Yet well into the late 1950s, many people outside Italy had little idea how pasta was actually made—some even famously believed it grew on trees. Here is a look back at how pasta was produced between 1925 and 1955 across Italy, the UK, the US, and even the USSR.



A worker hangs pasta to dry at a factory in Italy, 1932.





1932.



A chef makes tagliatelle at King Bomba, one of Soho's largest Italian delis, London, 1939.



A pasta factory worker.



Zelda Albano cuts spaghetti at a factory in Holloway, London, 1955.



A worker at the Atlantic Macaroni Company hangs spaghetti to dry at a plant in Long Island City, New York, 1943.



Spaghetti drying at a pasta factory in Italy.



Circa 1955.



Pasta factory workers.



Young factory workers carry pasta outside into the yard to dry, 1929.



1929.



1929.



Pasta drying at a factory in Naples, Italy, circa 1925.



Circa 1925.



1928.



A worker at an Italian factory uses a stick to bend dried spaghetti, 1932.



Spaghetti drying on the beach in Amalfi, Italy, 1949.



Pasta hung out to dry at a market.