also known as maccheroni alla chitarra, is a variety of egg pasta typical of the Abruzzo region in Italy, with a square cross section about 2–3 mm thick. Tonnarelli are a similar pasta from Lazio. Ciriole is the thicker version of chitarra, approximately twice the thickness of spaghetti. Because the pasta are cut from a sheet rather than extruded through a die, spaghetti alla chitarra are square rather than round in cross-section.

Origin of the name

The name of this spaghetti comes from the tool (the so-called chitarra, literally "guitar") this pasta is produced with. This tool gives the spaghetti its name, shape, and a porous texture that allows pasta sauce to adhere well to the pasta itself. The chitarra is a frame with a series of parallel wires crossing it.