Benedetto Cavalieri Bucatini, also known as perciatelli, is a thick pasta shaped like spaghetti, except with a hole through the center! This shape of pasta is popular in Rome and is wonderful for holding sauces.
The durum wheat used to make Benedetto Cavalieri pastas are grown on the hills of southern Italy without the use of chemical fertilizers. The dough has been kneaded and molded by a special bronze alloy to create its delicate shape. It is then dried at low temperature for about 40 hours to preserve the nutritional value of the durum wheat.
While industrial pasta tends to appear more golden and smooth, artisanal pasta is rougher in texture and coated with leftover starch. This makes the pasta easier for sauce to cling onto and gives it a much richer taste.