Italian food is a surprisingly diverse cuisine. Each of the twenty Italian regions has a distinctive set of flavors, recipes, products, and ingredients.  In fact, the Italian regions were not officially united as a nation until the mid-19th century; therefore, each individual region has retained much of its exclusive identity. Pasta is also unique from place to place. Fresh homemade pasta abounds throughout Italy and is often simply dressed, so as not to overwhelm its delicate flavor. Dried pasta is most popular in the South and can be adorned in countless inventive ways. Some say there are more pasta shapes in Italy than one person could conceivably eat in a lifetime.  Cheeses range from the soft, mild Buffalo Mozzarella of Campania to the hard, salty Pecorino Romano of Sardinia. These products often carry names indicative of their origins, such as the increasingly popular Grana Padano (a “grainy” cheese from the “Padana” or Po Valley of the Lombardy region).