Italy has a so many sizes and shapes of pasta that it would be impossible to even begin to write about them.  So I will just focus on some of my favorites.  Parpadelle, for example, is a wide sliced noodle traditionally made with 00 flour and lots of egg yolks and is definitely one of my favorites because it is extra silky and stretchy and delicious! 

Parpadelle is also known by many home cooks for being one of Italy's most "tempermental" pastas to make because it can easily go from being undercooked to "overcooked".  After mastering this pasta, however, it's actually very simple.  Once you eat homemade parpadelle, you will never want to go back to eating any prepackaged pastas ever again...  Surprising, it takes just 10-15 minutes of kneading the dough.  After kneading, you just have to let the dough sit for an hour.  It also cooks very quickly in just a just a few minutes. When it comes to the quality, taste, and experience of eating fresh delicious homemade parpadelle, waiting just over an hour (from start to finish) is definitely worth the wait!