I suspect you are correct, Ms Arielle

My grandparents were all born in Italy. It doesn't get much more Mediterranean than that. Lot's of sausage, a macaroni side with every meal, crusty Italian bread with lots of butter, lamb, beef, veal, pork, and wonderful, wonderful cheese; Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Mozzarella Di Bufala, whole milk Ricotta, Asiago, Mascarpone, Morello, and more.

My grandmother used to make Ravioli , Cavatelli, and Gnocchi by hand, and there would always be some thick chewy parts of the macaroni. My mom made the best Lasagna in the world.

Ah but those days are gone, and I'm extremely low carb now. I'll still take everything but the starch. And Netrition has some low carb macaroni https://pool.netrition.com/great_lc_bread_pasta.html that almost tastes like the real thing and only 7g carbs per serving. It's an every-once-in-a-while thing for us.

I visited my cousins in Italy some time ago, and the diet was pretty much the same as my grandparents took from the old-a country.

Bob