In ancient Italy, kitchens were equipped with a built-in pasta maker station known as a 'mattarello'. This station was used to roll out pasta dough and create various shapes and sizes of pasta. The mattarello was a long wooden rolling pin that allowed the cook to easily flatten the dough to the desired thickness. The pasta would then be cut into shapes like fettuccine, tagliatelle, or tortellini. The built-in pasta maker station was a central feature of the Italian kitchen, as pasta was a staple in their cuisine. The Italians perfected the art of pasta-making, and their traditional methods are still used today.