Alpina Comune

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Alpina Comune
Alpina comune5.JPG
Conservation status FAO (2007): not listed [1]
Other names
  • Alpina
  • Alpina Locale
  • Nostrana
Country of originItaly
Distribution
Standard MIPAAF
Usevaried [2]
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    60–65 kg [3]
  • Female:
    50–55 kg [3]
Height
  • Male:
    75–80 cm [3]
  • Female:
    65–70 cm [3]
Wool colourvery variable, polychrome
Horn statushorned or hornless
Beardusually bearded
  • Goat
  • Capra aegagrus hircus

The Alpina Comune is a heterogeneous population of domestic goats widely distributed in the Alps of northern Italy, particularly in the regions of Lombardy and Piemonte. It is highly variable in size, in morphological characteristics such as the type, colour and pattern of its coat and the shape and carriage of its ears, and in type of use. It does not display any of the uniformity characteristic of a breed, other than a consistent hardiness and adaptation to mountain terrain. It is however officially recognised and protected as one. The name Alpina Comune, "common", is more used in Piemonte; in Lombardy it may be called Alpina Locale, "local", or simply Nostrana, "ours". [4]

Contents

Distribution and numbers

The Alpina Comune is raised throughout Piemonte, from the mountains of the province of Cuneo to those of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, and in a large area of the Lombard Alps including the Brianza, the Canton of Ticino, the Grisons, the Lario, the Alpi Orobie, the Val Camonica, the Valchiavenna and the Valtellina. [2] Management is extensive: the animals are kept on medium or high alpine pasture in the summer months. [2]

The Alpina Comune is classed as one of the forty-three autochthonous Italian goat breeds of limited distribution; a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders. [5] [6] :89 At the end of 2013 the registered population was variously reported as 497, almost all of which were in Val d'Aosta, [7] and as 510. [8] Figures for the total size of the population vary widely. It was estimated at 22,000 in 1973, and in 2001 at 55,000. [2] Another estimate in 2002 reached the same figure, with 40,000 in Piemonte and 15,000 in Lombardy, [9] while a population of 100,000 was estimated both in 2005 [4] and in 2008. [2]

Use

The Alpina Comune is raised both for meat and for milk. The milk yield is approximately 400–600 kg per lactation of 180–270 days. The milk is used to make cheeses, either pure caprino or mixed-milk, including Toma, Raschera, Bra and robiola. Kids are usually slaughtered at a weight of 10–13 kg; the meat of adult animals is used to make salumi such the violino, a goat's-meat prosciutto. The products vary from place to place depending on the local traditions of the area. [2]

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The Passeirer Gebirgsziege or Capra Passiria is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the Passeier valley or Val Passiria, in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in north-eastern Italy. It is raised in that valley and in the neighbouring Sarntal, Schnalstal and upper Wipptal valleys; it is also present in neighbouring areas of southern Austria. While of Alpine type, it is morphologically quite distinct from the Alpina Comune goat breed. Management is extensive: the animals are kept on alpine pasture from early spring to late autumn.

The Napoletana is a breed of domestic goat from the area south of Naples, in Campania in southern Italy. It is raised on the slopes of Vesuvius, on the slopes of the Monti Lattari, and in the Agro Nocerino Sarnese which lies between them. The origin of the breed is unknown. It may derive from goats of African origin imported to the area in the early years of the twentieth century; the alternative name Torca Nera, "black Turkish goat", suggests an origin in the Mediterranean basin.

The Grigia Molisana is an indigenous breed of greyish domestic goat from Molise in southern Italy. It is raised in the comuni of Acquaviva Collecroci, Castelmauro, Montefalcone nel Sannio, Montemitro and San Felice del Molise; all are in the province of Campobasso, and the breed may also be called the Capra di Campobasso. The highest concentration is in Montefalcone, from which the name Capra di Montefalcone derives. The origins of the breed are not known; studies conducted in the 1980s suggest influence from the Alpino Comune, Garganica and Maltese breeds.

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Nera Verzasca Breed of goat

The Nera Verzasca, also known as the Nera di Verzasca or Verzaschese, is an indigenous breed of black domestic goat from the Valle Verzasca, in the canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland, from which it takes its name. It is raised in that area and in the provinces of Como, Varese and Verbano Cusio Ossola in northern Lombardy, in the north of Italy.

The Roccaverano is an indigenous breed of large domestic goat from the Langhe, in the provinces of Asti and Cuneo, in Piemonte in north-western Italy. It is raised mainly in the Langa Astigiana, mostly within the Comunità montana Langa Astigiana Val Bormida, and is named for the town and comune of Roccaverano in that area. The origins of the breed are unknown.

Messinese goat Breed of goat

The Messinese is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the area of the Monti Nebrodi and the Monti Peloritani in the province of Messina, in the Mediterranean island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It is raised mainly in those areas, but also in the provinces of Catania, Enna and Palermo. Its range partly overlaps that of the Argentata dell'Etna. The breed was officially recognised and a herd-book established in 2001. It was previously known either as the Capra dei Nebrodi or in general as the Siciliana Comune.

Chamois Coloured goat Breed of goat

The Chamois Coloured Goat, French: Chèvre chamoisée, German: Gämsfarbige Gebirgsziege, Italian: Camosciata delle Alpi, is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from Switzerland. It is distributed throughout Switzerland and in parts of northern Italy and Austria, and has been exported to other countries including France. There are two strains, a horned type from the Grisons or Graubünden in the eastern part of the country, and a hornless type from the former bezirk of Oberhasli and the area of Brienz and Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland in central Switzerland. In some countries the hornless variety may be considered a separate breed, the Oberhasli goat. The Swiss herd-book was established in 1930.

Frisa Valtellinese Breed of goat

The Frisa Valtellinese is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the province of Sondrio, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is raised throughout the Valtellina, from which its principal name derives, in the Val Malenco and the upper Val Masino in the Rhaetian Alps, and in the Valchiavenna. It may also be called the Frontalasca, for the village of Frontale, a frazione of the comune of Sondalo in the Val di Rezzalo, or the Rezzalasca for that valley. The name Frisa comes from its frisature, or Swiss markings.

The Di L'Aquila or Capra di L'Aquila is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo in southern Italy. It is raised only in that province. It is a heterogeneous breed with variable characteristics, showing the influence of introductions of Alpina Comune, Girgentana, Maltese and Toggenburg stock. It is large, hardy and productive. Management is extensive: the animals are kept on mountain pasture, and brought under cover for protection from the snow only in the winter months.

References

  1. Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN   9789251057629. Accessed July 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN   9788850652594, pages 314–15.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Norme tecniche della popolazione caprina "Alpina": standard della razza (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia. Accessed July 2014.
  4. 1 2 Lorenzo Noè, Alessandro Gaviraghi, Andrea D'Angelo, Adriana Bonanno, Adriana Di Trana, Lucia Sepe, Salvatore Claps, Giovanni Annicchiarico, Nicola Bacciu (2005). Le razze caprine d'Italia (in Italian); in: Giuseppe Pulina (2005). L' alimentazione della capra da latte. Bologna: Avenue Media. ISBN   9788886817493, pages 381–435. Archived 5 October 2014.
  5. Strutture Zootecniche (Dec. 2009/712/CE - Allegato 2 - Capitolo 2) (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali. Section I (e). Archived 4 May 2014.
  6. Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Accessed July 2014.
  7. Consistenze Provinciali della Razza L1 Alpina Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed July 2014.
  8. Breed data sheet: Alpina/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2014.
  9. Michele Corti, Luigi Andrea Brambilla (2002). Le razze autoctone caprine dell’arco alpino e i loro sistemi di allevamento (in Italian). Conference papers: L’allevamento ovicaprino nelle Alpi: Razze, tradizioni e prodotti in sintonia con l’ambiente; Cavalese, 21 September 2002, pages 61–80. Accessed July 2014.