Fettuccine literally means "little ribbons" and refers to the shape of the pasta. It's a flat, thick egg noodle popular in central Italy, and it is often eaten with ragù—a special, slow-cooked meat sauce. There are several regional variations of ragù in Italy, the most famous being Neapolitan and Bolognese. The one presented here is Bolognese, from Emilia-Romagna.