here are many people with the family name Ravioli in Gavi Ligure, a fortress town that once belonged to the Republic of Genoa. And so was the chef who is said to have actually invented the pasta known as ravioli.
Ravioli is the oldest type of stuffed pasta with a clear historical record. Descriptions of ravioli go back to the 12th and 13th centuries. A contract dated in 1182, states that during grape harvest a farmer was to provide his landlord with a meal of bread, meat, ravioli and wine for three people.
Ravioli is also called mezzelune, or half moon, when it is made in the shape of a crescent.
