PASTA

Italians eat over sixty pounds of pasta per person per year! No wonder, with more than 350 different shapes and varieties to choose from, including spirals, butterflies, shells, snails, ribbons, and filled pastas. Most kids will be happy with pasta Bolognese (meat sauce) or marinara (tomato sauce). If your child needs some simple comfort food, ask your waiter for pasta al burro (plain pasta with butter).

Contrary to popular belief, Marco Polo did not discover pasta. The Chinese ate pasta as early as 5,000 B.C. and there is evidence that the Etruscans made it in 400 B.C.

The word "macaroni" means "dearest darlings" in Italian. In 18th century England, people used the word to mean excellence and perfection. That's why Yankee Doodle stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni!

PIZZA

Pizza is older than Italy. It wasn't really invented, but evolved over time. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans ate something quite similar to modern pizza. In fact, the word pizza may have come from the Latin picea, a word used by the Romans to describe the blackening of bread in an oven.

According to legend, pizza was created by a baker in Naples who wanted to make a unique kind of bread. His creation was so popular, he was invited to make it for King Umberto and Queen Margherita. He made a pizza of three colors to symbolize the Italian flag - white cheese, red sauce, and green basil — and named his creation Pizza Margherita, after the queen.

The world's first pizzeria was Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba in Naples. It opened in 1830 and is still in business today at Via Port'Alba, 18.

GELATO

When the kids get tired of walking and looking at art, it's time for gelato! Gelato comes from the Italian word gelare, meaning "to freeze."

Gelato is Italian ice cream. Unlike American ice cream, gelato is made from milk instead of cream and has half the fat and calories.

Gelato is said to have been created for the court of Francesco de' Medici in 1565. Today it comes in many, many flavors. Try a different one each day while you are in Italy. You can have your gelato in a cono (cone) or in a coppa (cup). You can even have it topped with panna (whipped cream). Yum!