We're all familiar with stereotypical Italian food, lots of noodles and tomato sauce, but both Tomatoes and pasta were foreign ingredients introduced to Italy through trade. Pasta was allegedly introduced by Marco Polo after his travels to China. Tomatoes were brought from the new world by conquistadors in the 16th century. But why have they come to totally dominate Italian food? And what was Italian food like before pasta and tomatoes?
Italian food prior to the Columbian Exchange happens to be one of our most (if not the most) frequent food history questions! If anyone else would like to put their oar in, please don't hesitate to do so, as More Can Always Be Said on the tomato's influence on Italian food.
For the meantime, OP, you may be interested in this previous thread on pre-tomato Italian food, encompassing a post roundup from u/jschooltiger and an overview by u/Grombrindal18.
On the pasta front, u/wotan_weevil has you covered: