Fusilli

Fusilli are a southern Italian pasta recognized by their helical or helicoidal shape—often described as a corkscrew. In the United States and Canada, this same pasta is commonly called rotini.

The name comes from the Italian word fusillo, the singular form meaning "little spindle," referencing the traditional method of making fusilli by winding dough around a rod, or fuso in Italian. The pasta is thought to have Arab origins, and in Sicily it is known as busiata, while in Sardinia it is called busa—both regions where Muslim civilization first arrived in Italy. These names derive from the Arabic word būs, meaning the thin reed used to shape the dough.

Regional Italian varieties of fusilli can be either extruded or hand-formed, solid or hollow, and short or long. The common short, solid, helicoidal, extruded type is simply called fusilli, while the long version is fusilli Sorrento. Larger short ones are fusilloni, and larger long ones are Colonne Pompei. A longer, double-braided variety is fusilli Capri.

The hollow, helical, corkscrew-shaped extruded type is known as fusilli bucati, available in both short and long forms. Hand-formed hollow fusilli are made by wrapping dough around a spindle in different sizes and are named after their origin, such as those from Avellino, Naples, or Gragnano. In Campania, these are sometimes served with Genovese sauce or beans. Outside Italy, in the United States and Canada, the extruded short helicoidal pasta is also widely sold as rotini, often in standard or tri-color varieties.