Thus, in Italy, vermicelli refers to a type of pasta thicker than spaghetti, whereas in the U.S., it refers to a type thinner than spaghetti.n 14th-century Italy, long pasta shapes had varying local names. Barnabas de Reatinis of Reggio notes in his Compendium de naturis et proprietatibus alimentorum (1338) that the Tuscan vermicelli are called orati in Bologna, minutelli in Venice, fermentini in Reggio, and pancardelle in Mantua.