I think that Italian American food is a distinct form of food, and is authentic in its own right. I'm talking about things like spaghetti and meatballs, chicken pesto penne, fettuccine alfredo, ceasar salad, garlic bread, marinara sauce, and things like that. I'm putting ravioli in that same basket.

The, "dumpling place," a raviolo means a dumpling. All that a raviolo is can be summarized as a dumpling. Italy, being only a country in name, stitched together out of many different countries, does not really have a dish called ravioli. Each of the separate countries that are stitched together to form Italy have their own type of dumpling, and they don't call it ravioli.

For example, in Torino, their style of dumpling (raviolo) is called agnolotti. You won't find ravioli on the menu, just agnolotti. A raviolo is distinguished by what is put in the dumpling. Most dim sum is ravioli, which just means dumpling, but it is Chinese food. I think that in Tuscany ravioli comes in a soup; dumplings in broth.

A raviolo means a filling wrapped in a pasta. In Genoa they are called tortelli, not ravioli, and are always filled with ricotta. Every region that you go to, the filling of the dumpling is going to be different. In Rome, a raviolo is often huge, and is called tortolloni. I don't believe I have ever seen ravioli on a menu in Venice, Naples, or anywhere else. Each region has it's own way of making a dumpling, and they have their own special name for it. The word ravioli does exist in Italy, in a sort of generic way to mean any kind of dumpling, and it is not non-existent, like spaghetti and meatballs.

For example, in the USA you might wake up and make yourself an egg omelette for breakfast, adding cheese, avocado, maybe some spinach. If you do that in Italy they will look at you strange, as if you are trying to build a rocket ship on your stove. Eggs are only eaten for dinner, and are never eaten for breakfast. It's illegal for a grocery store to store eggs in a refrigerator. Eggs and milk are only allowed to be kept at room temperature. Most people keep their milk and eggs in the oven.

I'm not a big fan of Tuscany, but I think their ravioli is called tortelli, if I'm not mistaking. I'd be hesitant about going to a generic ravioli place because I don't think there is any such thing, just variations on a dumpling, called by their regional name. I'm sure I'm not 100% correct on this, I just can't recall seeing ravioli on a menu in Italy. Every place I've ever been has its own variation on what they call a dumpling, and they call it by its own regional name.