Ribbon pasta is a category of long, flat pasta cut into narrow strips from rolled sheets of egg dough, including fettuccine, tagliatelle, pappardelle, and linguine, which differ mainly in width. Tagliatelle, narrower, is associated with Bologna and Emilia-Romagna and often served with meat ragù; fettuccine, slightly wider, is more associated with Rome, classically with a butter and cheese sauce (fettuccine Alfredo). The flat, wide surface holds thicker sauces well, from cream and butter sauces to ragùs and pesto, and it's a common base for baked dishes like lasagna, where the sheets hold their shape when layered.