[4] It is made of penne or other pasta with tomato sauce, covered with slices of fried eggplant and served with grated ricotta salata cheese[4] and often basil.

[5][6] It was named in honor of the native of Catania Vincenzo Bellini, the composer of the opera Norma.

", meaning a masterpiece, when he tasted the dish,[6][7] although the name is not attested until decades after his death.

[8] Pasta alla Norma was named "dish of the year" by the BIT [it] Tourism Award in 2018.

[6] Media related to Pasta alla Norma at Wikimedia Commons