Penne Rigate is part of the short, diagonal cut, ridged pasta family and is one of the most well-known types of pasta, as well as being the most versatile in the kitchen. In Italian, the term "Penne" refers to the goose feather which was used historically to write with and was cut on a diagonal to achieve a really thin tip. The shape, obtained from a pasta tube, can be smooth or ridged, of varying length and has the typical diagonal cut of a quill. Penne is one of the few types of pasta for which there is an exact date when it was created.