Anyone who has ever wondered about the history of pasta across the length of the Apennine Mountains has heard that the Italians were introduced to this flour product by Marco Polo. It is said that the great Venetian traveler and writer, who traveled to China and back along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295, brought back to his homeland, among other curiosities, dry Chinese noodles. The Italians tried it, were ecstatic, and have never looked back from spaghetti ever since.