Fusilli () are a variety of

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

from

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

, with a helical ( corkscrew) or helicoidal shape.

Etymology

'' Fusillo'', the singular form of ''fusilli'', means 'little spindle' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. Fusilli are traditionally made by wrapping pasta dough around a spindle, or ''fuso'' in Italian. Fusilli are believed to be of Arab derivation, and are known as ''busiata'' in Sicily and ''busa'' in Sardinia, the two Italian regions where Muslim civilization first penetrated. Both ''busiata'' and ''busa'' come from the Arabic word ''bus'' ( بوص), meaning the thin reed around which the dough was traditionally wound to make the pasta.

Variants

There are multiple regional Italian varieties of fusilli, which can be either extruded or hand-formed, solid (helicoidal) or hollow (helical), and short or long.

Fusilli

The common extruded solid short helicoidal variety is known simply as fusilli. The long version is known as ''fusilli Sorrento''. Larger versions are known as ''fusilloni'' and ''Colonne Pompei'', for the short and long varieties, respectively. An elongated version that has a double-braided appearance is known as ''fusilli Capri''.

''Fusilli bucati''

The common extruded hollow helical (corkscrew) variety is known as ''fusilli bucati'' () and is produced in short (''corti'') and long (''lunghi'') forms. Hand-formed versions of this are made by wrapping pasta dough around a spindle at varying sizes, and are named after their areas of origin (e.g. ''fusilli avellinesi'' from

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

, ''fusilli napoletani'' from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and ''fusilli di Gragnano'' from Gragnano).

Outside Italy

In the United States and Canada, extruded short helicoidal pasta is also commonly known as "rotini", which is frequently sold in both standard and tri-color varieties.

References