Pasta alla puttanesca is a typical first course of Neapolitan cuisine. Also called "aulive and chiapparielle", involves a sauce composed of tomato, garlic, Gaeta black olives, oregano and capers. There is also a Lazio version of this dish that includes the addition of salted anchovies. Another difference between the Neapolitan and Lazio variants is the pasta format: spaghetti or linguine in Naples and penne in Rome.

Regarding the origin of the dish and its name, there are several stories and theories. The first traces of this pasta date back to the early 19th century, when the cook and scholar Ippolito Cavalcanti mentions a puttanesca-like dish in his manual "Cucina teorico-pratica." After several appearances in other Neapolitan cookbooks, the 1931 Guida Gastronomica d'Italia listed it among the specialties of Campania, naming it Maccheroni alla marinara. The name puttanesca has been the subject of long debate, and many experts have tried to solve the riddle.

For example, gastronomy expert Arthur Schwartz in his book "Naples at Table" thinks that pasta alla puttanesca originated in Naples, in the Quartieri Spagnoli. In fact, in the early 20th century, Naples' working-class neighborhood was home to all kinds of businesses, including the pleasure houses. One day the owner of one of these brothels decided to feed his customers with a dish that was quick to prepare and thought of giving it this colorful name.

Others, however, believe that the origin of the name should be attributed to a young prostitute from Provence, Yvette the Frenchwoman, who after creating this dish would give it a very self-deprecating name. Then there are those who trace the origins of puttanesca to the local Rangio Fellone in Ischia. Here in the 1950s these spaghetti would have been prepared with what was left in the pantry, and the witty term would be a reference to the improvised preparation.