Amatriciana originates from a recipe called "⁠pasta alla gricia⁠". The origin of the word gricia is unclear. In ⁠papal Rome⁠, the grici were sellers of common edible foods,⁠ who got this name because many of them came from ⁠Valtellina⁠, at that time a possession of the ⁠Swiss⁠ canton of ⁠Grigioni⁠.⁠ According to another hypothesis, the name originates from the ⁠frazione⁠ (hamlet) of Grisciano, in the ⁠comune⁠ (municipality) of ⁠Accumoli⁠, near Amatrice. The sauce—nowadays named also amatriciana Bianca⁠ was, and still is, prepared with ⁠guanciale⁠ (cured pork cheek) and grated ⁠pecorino romano⁠.⁠ At some point, a little ⁠olive oil⁠was added to the recipe. In the 1960s, amatriciana sauce was still prepared in this way in Amatrice itself