Interesting! It seems to be a case of convergent evolution then. My grandma is a gentile from southern Italy so probably it's just that hearts and gizzards are naturally suited to soup. We always used to have it with ditalini pasta, but I live in a place where pasta is now relegated to the "international section" so I make do with rotini which is easier to find.

You had me at "chewy texture" with the mandlach. It sounds like the wiki version might be less chewy and more crunchy, but maybe I'll keep an eye out for them to try something new!