PACCHERI, a vertical cannelloni The idea of cannelloni, in the collective imagination of several post-economic boom generations in Italy, brings to mind large family gatherings where there was always an aunt skilled in the kitchen, bringing a wave of happiness to young and old with this delicacy. The cannelloni nestled in the baking dishes, dripping with ragù cooked for hours, peeked out charred and steaming as if they had emerged from a fierce battle with Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. We were inspired by this idea when we chose Paccheri, this pasta shape for your dishes but with a twist: we didn't want to see them laid out, defeated by cooking, but combative, standing upright on your baking dishes, as if wanting to transition from the now static and resigned horizontality to a verticality where the ragù passes through them but does not conquer them, seasons them but does not bend them, they remain waiting for your fork, which must skillfully grasp their weakness and bring them to your mouth. The term derives from ancient Greek (from πας, "all" and χειρ, "hand") of the first founders of Parthenope and is still used in the Italian language as "pacca," meaning a slap given with an open hand, without hostile intentions. Hence the name of this type of pasta, much larger than usual, generally accompanied by flavorful sauces. When we talk about pasta, we must think of Naples. In this city with many faces, in the past, Paccheri was the type of pasta mostly consumed by the "lazzaroni," or the most disadvantaged social classes, for a simple reason: a few were enough to satisfy. In Neapolitan dialect, pacchero means a big slap; indeed, this type of pasta, much larger than its sisters, when poured onto the plate, makes a noise that closely resembles the sound of a slap, or, as a Neapolitan would say, a "pacca." Also, they say four paccheri and you're good. The choice of pasta as a daily food earned Southerners the nickname of macaroni-eaters, but it was a better solution than what was found elsewhere. For example, in the North, the popular diet consisted mostly of polenta, which was nutritionally unbalanced.