mandilli di saea

Also known as madilli di seta, these are delicate lasagne-like strips of fresh egg pasta, served with pesto and often a sprinkling of pine nuts.

The name is said to derive from Genoa's medieval silk merchants. It also recalls the 'sacro mandillo' or Mandylion di Genova with the face of Christ (said to have been imprinted himself on a piece of cloth at the request of the King of Edessa and now housed in the church of San Bartolomeo degli Armeni).