In Bologna, at least, one thing is certain: some of the best tortellini is produced at Paolo Atti & Figli founded in 1880 and in the same premises at via Caprarie, 7 since 1900. (There’s another shop around the corner at via Drapperie, 6; both are just a few minutes’ walk from Piazza Maggiore.)

Deep inside this complex, Signora Edda, one of the city’s prime sfogline (or pasta makers), reigns supreme in a small, spare kitchen. Edda is short, round, smiling, and emphatic about what goes into making tortellini (isn’t everyone in Bologna?).

She kneads a lump of bright yellow-orange dough about the size of a small Frisbee, digging into it with well-manicured hands. The dough’s particular color, much brighter than anything you’re likely to see outside Italy, is the result of eggs that come from hens fed solely on corn.

The formula calls for one egg for every 100 grams of semolina flour, which Atti sources in Puglia’s Altamura, by consensus the finest region for the ingredient. Salt, says Edda, is strictly forbidden because it kills the flavor.

Atti’s Via Drapperie store is dedicated to pasta, whereas the Via Caprarie store specializes in baked goods, but also sells pasta.

Both shops have the wood-paneled warmth and tantalizing displays that hail from another century.

Even the doily-trimmed boxes for pasta and cookies feature the type, logos, and phone number (“302”) of the original store, founded by the “grandfather of the grandfather” of the present-day proprietor, Paolo Bonaga.

Article by Gary Walther

Shop Times:

Monday to Saturday 7:30 - 19:15

Closed on Sunday

Addresses:

Via Caprarie, 7

Tel +39 051220425

Via Drapperie, 6

Tel +39 051233349

info@paoloatti.com