What tube-shaped pasta is cut diagonally?

The tube-shaped pasta cut diagonally is penne.

Penne are short, tubular pasta pieces with ends sliced at an angle. That diagonal cut gives them a distinctive shape resembling the nib of an old fountain or dip pen, which also explains the name: penne is the plural of the Italian penna, meaning “feather” or “pen.”

Penne are usually made from durum wheat and are produced in two familiar forms. Penne lisce has a smooth exterior, while penne rigate has ridges that can help sauces cling to the surface. The shape works especially well with robust sauces such as marinara, pesto, and arrabbiata.

Penne is often confused with rigatoni, but rigatoni is generally larger, with straight-cut ends and deeper ridges. Farfalle is bow-shaped, while fusilli is twisted. Penne has an unusually well-documented origin: in 1865, Genoese pasta maker Giovanni Battista Capurro patented a machine that could cut pasta diagonally without crushing it.