The Maltese is a breed of domestic goat from the east and central Mediterranean area. It originates in Asia Minor, and takes its name from the island of Malta. It is raised mainly in southern Italy, and particularly in the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Although the Maltese: Mogħża Maltija is reported to DAD-IS, the official view is that there are no pure-bred specimens of the breed in the Maltese islands, although it is possible that some modern Maltese goats are closely related to the original type. The Maltese is also present in Greece, Turkey and the Maghreb.
The Sarda is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, off the west coast of central Italy. It is raised throughout the island, particularly in the provinces of Cagliari and Nuoro. It is an ancient breed that has been influenced by the Maltese goat.
The Biellese is a breed of large domestic sheep indigenous to the province of Biella, in Piedmont in north-western Italy, from which it takes its name. It may also be known as the Razza d'Ivrea, after the town of Ivrea, or as the Piemontese Alpina. The Biellese is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.
The Bovec is a breed of domestic sheep from the upper valley of the Soča or Isonzo river, now in Slovenia. The breed is named in both Slovenian and in Italian for the town of Bovec or Plezzo; in the Trenta valley it may also be called Trentarka. It is raised in the Soča valley in Slovenia, in the areas of Resia and Tarvisio in Friuli in Italy, and in Styria and Carinthia in Austria. The breed is raised for milk and for meat.
The Fabrianese is a modern breed of domestic sheep from the Marche region of central Italy. It takes its name from the town and comune of Fabriano, in the province of Ancona. The Fabrianese was created as a dual-purpose breed in the 1960s by cross-breeding local breeds of the Apennines of the Marche with rams of the Bergamasca breed from the Alps of Lombardy. It is raised in the eastern foothills of the Apennines, in the provinces of Ancona, Ascoli Piceno and Macerata in the Marche, and in the province of Terni in Umbria.
The Ciavenasca is a breed of small domestic sheep from the province of Sondrio, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is raised in the mountainous terrain of the Val San Giacomo, the Val Bregaglia and the Valchiavenna, from which the name of the breed derives. It is raised only for meat; the wool is of very poor quality, and the milk is sufficient only for the lambs. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.
The Finarda is a breed of large domestic sheep from the regions of Lombardy and Piemonte in northern Italy. It is heavy breed raised mainly for meat, although it also yields 4–6 kg of wool per year. It results from cross-breeding the Bergamasca and Biellese breeds. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. However, in 2008 the herdbook was empty, and may in fact never have been activated. Most data for the breed dates from 1983.
The Savoiarda or razza di Cuorgné is a threatened breed of upland sheep from the province of Turin, in Piemonte, north-west Italy. The few remaining breeders are in the Val Chisone, the Val di Susa, the Valli di Lanzo and the Val Pellice.
The Altamurana is a breed of sheep from the province of Bari, in Puglia in southern Italy. It takes its name from the town of Altamura, in the Murge. It is of Asiatic, possibly Syrian, origin. It is raised mainly in the provinces of Bari and Foggia. It was formerly considered a triple-purpose breed, yielding meat, milk, and wool; it is now kept principally for milk production. It yields approximately 65 kg of milk per lactation, with on average 7.5% fat and 6.5% protein.
The Barbaresca or Barbaresca Siciliana is a breed of large fat-tailed sheep from the Mediterranean island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It derives from the cross-breeding between indigenous Sicilian Pinzirita sheep with fat-tailed Barbary sheep of Maghrebi origin. These were probably brought to the island after the Muslim conquest of Sicily in the 9th century; Arabic texts preserved at Agrigento document the movement of large numbers of sheep to the Sicilian interior.
The Valle del Belice is a breed of domestic sheep from the Valle del Belice, the valley of the Belice river in south-western Sicily, from which it takes its name. It is raised mainly in its area of origin in the provinces of Agrigento, Palermo and Trapani, but is also found elsewhere in Sicily and in southern Italy. It appears to result from the three-way hybridisation of the Sicilian Pinzirita and Comisana breeds with Sarda stock brought from Sardinia. It has the resistance to harsh winter conditions of the Pinzirita and the Sarda, the resistance to high summer temperatures of the Comisana, and the good milk yield of the Comisana and the Sarda. Occasionally a pecora scimmia is born, with partial or total alopecia of the head and limbs; this is caused by a recessive gene.
The Pinzirita or Pinzunita is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to the Mediterranean island of Sicily, Italy. Its name derives from pinzuni, the Sicilian language name for the chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, which it is thought to resemble in colouring. It is also known as the Siciliana comune, or "common Sicilian sheep". It is distributed throughout most of Sicily, except for the southern coast, where the Comisana is preferred, and the hills of the provinces of Agrigento, Caltanissetta and the southern part of the province of Palermo, where the Barbaresca is predominant. Like the Leccese and Altamurana, it belongs to the Zackel sheep group. It is a hardy and frugal breed, well adapted to survival on poor mountain pasture and in the macchia mediterranea biome of inland Sicily.
The Leccese or Moscia Leccese is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to the Salento peninsula, in Puglia, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of Lecce, the principal city of the peninsula. Like the Pinzirita and the Altamurana, it belongs to the Zackel sheep group. It is a hardy and frugal breed, usually kept in semi-feral herds, capable of surviving year-round on pasture alone. The wool is normally white and the skin flesh-coloured with darker mottlings. In a small proportion of animals the wool is entirely black, and the skin is also black; these black-skinned sheep are resistant to the effects of the poisonous Hypericum crispum, common in the Salento, which in the white-woolled, pale-skinned sheep causes photosensitivity and thus dermatitis.
The Gentile di Puglia is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to southern Italy. It originates from the Tavoliere di Foggia, a large plain in the northern part of Puglia, and is raised mainly in that region; a few are found in neighbouring regions. The Gentile di Puglia is sometimes known as the Merinos d'Italia, or Italian merino.
The Merinizzata Italiana is a breed of domestic sheep from southern Italy. It is a modern breed, created in the first half of the twentieth century or in recent decades by cross-breeding of indigenous Gentile di Puglia and Sopravissana stock with imported Merino breeds such as the French Berrichon du Cher and Île-de-France, and the German Merinolandschaf. The aim was to produce a good meat breed without sacrificing wool quality. The Merinizzata Italiana is raised mostly in Abruzzo, mainly in the provinces of L'Aquila and Teramo, with small numbers in neighbouring regions.
The Nera di Arbus, more fully Pecora Nera di Arbus, is a breed of small domestic sheep indigenous to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy. It takes its name from the comune of Arbus, in the province of Medio Campidano, in the south-western part of the island. It is raised in the provinces of Cagliari, Nuoro, Oristano and Sassari. The breed achieved official recognition in 2008.
The Delle Langhe, also called Pecora delle Langhe or Langarola, is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to Piedmont, in north-western Italy. It is a rough-woolled breed of southern Mediterranean type, and originates from the mountainous area of the Alta Langa, where the Apennines meet the Alps, in the province of Cuneo. It is raised mainly in the Langhe, but is found in several other regions of Italy including Abruzzo, Basilicata, Emilia–Romagna, Liguria and Tuscany.
The Noticiana is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to the inland parts of the province of Syracuse, in south-eastern Sicily, Italy. Its name derives from that of the town and comune of Noto. It is raised in the province of Syracuse and in neighbouring parts of that of Ragusa. It is a southern Mediterranean breed, and derives from the Comisana.
The Rossa Mediterranea is a breed of domestic goat from the Mediterranean island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It derives from the Damascus goat of Syria and the eastern Mediterranean, and is thus also known as the Derivata di Siria. It is raised mainly in Sicily, but also in Basilicata and Calabria in southern mainland Italy.
The Argentata dell'Etna is an indigenous breed of domestic goat from the area of Mount Etna in the province of Catania and the Monti Peloritani in the province of Messina, in the Mediterranean island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It is raised mainly in that area, but also in the provinces of Enna and Palermo. It is named for the volcano and for its silvery grey coat. The origins of the breed are unknown; it shows similarities to the Garganica breed, and to other Italian grey breeds such as the Ciociara Grigia of Lazio and the Cilentana Grigia of Campania.
