Matesina

Last updated

Matesina
Country of originItaly
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    70 kg
  • Female:
    60 kg
Wool coloroff-white or pale hazelnut
Face colorwhite
Notes
triple-purpose: meat, milk and wool

The Matesina is a breed of sheep raised on the massif of the Matese and in the Valle Telesina, in Campania in southern Italy. [1] It originates from the area of Dragoni, in the province of Caserta, and apparently derives from cross-breeding between the Appenninica and Gentile di Puglia breeds; the wool, like that of the Gentile di Puglia, is of fine quality. [1] The Matesina 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. [2]

In 2013 total numbers for the breed were not reported. [3] 1000 head were counted in 1983; [1] total numbers were reported as 120 in 2003 [4] and estimated at 100 in 2007. [1]

Related Research Articles

Sarda sheep Breed of domestic sheep from the island Sardinia

The Sarda is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to the island of Sardinia. It is raised throughout Italy, and in other Mediterranean countries, particularly Tunisia. The Sarda is considered to be among the best Italian breeds of sheep for production of sheep's milk; most of the milk is used to make pecorino sardo cheese. The Sarda is highly adaptable; it may be kept on lowland or on mountainous terrains, and is suitable both for intensive and for extensive or transhumant management. The long, coarse white wool is used for weaving carpets and other goods.

The Garganica is a breed of domestic goat which originated on the Gargano promontory in the Puglia region of southern Italy. From there it has spread to other parts of Puglia and to neighbouring regions.

The Brentegana is a breed of sheep from the provinces of Trento and Verona in northern Italy. The name derives from that of the comune of Brentonico, the area where the breed is thought to have originated. Two distinct types are known, the Brentegana Scelta or Brentegana Trentina, a large heavy meat/wool type, and the Brentegana Comune, a medium-sized type more suitable for milk production. The ancestry of the breed is not clear: it has been suggested that it derives from the Lamon breed, but this is disputed. 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 Brianzola is a breed of sheep from Lombardy in northern Italy. It originates in the historical region of the Brianza, from which it takes its name, and which coincides with the modern provinces of Como, Lecco and Monza and Brianza. It is raised principally in the comuni of Brianza, Civate, Galbiate, Proserpio, Suello and Valmadrera. It is a heavy meat breed; the wool is not used. 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.

Brigasca sheep breed

The Brigasca, French: Brigasque, is a breed of sheep from Liguria in north-west Italy and the département of Alpes-Maritimes in south-eastern France. It takes its name from the town of La Brigue, which was until 1947 in the Italian province of Cuneo. The Brigasca is raised in the provinces of Imperia and Savona in Italy, and neighbouring areas in France. It appears to have origins in common with the Frabosana and Delle Langhe 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.

The Cornella Bianca is a breed of domestic sheep from the Apennines of Emilia–Romagna in central Italy. It is raised principally in mountainous parts of the provinces of Bologna, Modena and Reggio Emilia, where it is transhumant. Some are also raised in the plains around Ferrara, Rovigo and Vicenza. It is found particularly in the comuni of Minerbio, Baricella and Malalbergo in the province of Bologna and Argenta in the province of Ferrara.

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 Lamon or Lamonese is a breed of sheep from the comuni of Lamon and Sovramonte in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto in north-east Italy. The area is known as the Feltrino, from the town of Feltre, and the breed may also be referred to as the Feltrina. It was formerly widely distributed in the Veneto and the Trentino, and as far as the province of Mantova in Lombardy. In the 1950s there was an attempt to increase the size by cross-breeding with the Bergamasca; there was also some cross-breeding with the Padovana and the now extinct Trentina. The Lamon 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 Marrana or Marrane is a breed of large sheep from the area of Rezzoaglio, in the Val d'Aveto in the province of Genova, in Liguria in north-west Italy. It was formerly a small breed, with an average weight of about 50 kg; the handful of surviving members of the breed are larger, and show strong morphological similarity to the Bergamasca and the Biellese, to such an extent that the integrity of the breed has been questioned. The Marrana 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 Nostrana is a breed of sheep from the area of the Passo della Cisa, the Apennine pass which connects the comune of Pontremoli in the province of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, with that of Berceto in the province of Parma, in Emilia–Romagna. The Nostrana appears to be closely related to the Garfagnina Bianca, and probably also to the Cornigliese and Zerasca 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.


The Pomarancina is a breed of domestic sheep from Tuscany in central Italy. It is raised mainly in the comune of Pomarance, from which it takes its name, and in the neighbouring comuni of Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina, Montecatini Val di Cecina and Volterra, all in the province of Pisa; some are kept in other parts of Tuscany, in the provinces of Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca and Siena. 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 Pusterese is a breed of domestic sheep from the autonomous province of Bolzano in northern Italy. It may also be called the Pustera gigante, Nobile di Badia or Gadertaler. It is raised mainly in the Val Pusteria (Pustertal), from which it takes its name, and in the Val Gardena; it has been reported also from the province of Belluno. The origins of the breed are unclear; it probably originates from the Tirol, but has also been influenced by the Lamon. 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 Vissana is a breed of domestic sheep from the province of Macerata, in the Marche in central Italy. It may be extinct. It takes its name from the comune of Visso in the Monti Sibillini, and is or was raised mostly in that area, extending also into Umbria and Tuscany; herds under transhumant management formerly over-wintered in Lazio. Cross-breeding with the Comisana, the Sarda and the Sopravissana may have contributed to a substantial decline in breed numbers which was noted in the 1980s. The Vissana 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 Varesina is a rare breed of domestic sheep from the province of Varese in Lombardy, in northern Italy. It originates from the area of Biandronno and Travedona; members of the breed have been identified in the comuni of Albizzate and Arcisate. The Varesina is closely related to the Bergamasca and the Biellese, but is smaller. 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 Trimeticcia di Segezia is a modern breed of domestic sheep from Puglia in southern Italy. It is named for the town of Segezia, a frazione of Foggia, where it was created at the Istituto Sperimentale per la Zootecnia, an experimental breeding station of the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. "Trimeticcia" means "three-way hybrid": the breed was created by cross-breeding Gentile di Puglia ewes with French Île-de-France rams, and then crossing the resultant hybrid with Württemberger rams; the resulting stock was selectively bred for adaptation to the climate and conditions of the area. The range of the breed is principally the plain of the Tavoliere delle Puglie, but extends also into Molise. The Trimeticcia di Segezia 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 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 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 Laticauda is a breed of domestic sheep from Campania and Calabria, in southern Italy. It is a fat-tailed breed, which gives rise to the name Laticauda, "broad-tailed". It is raised mainly in its area of origin in the provinces of Avellino, Benevento and Caserta, but is also found in the provinces of Cosenza, Matera and Naples. Like the Barbaresca breed of Sicily, it appears to result from the hybridisation of local breeds with Barbary sheep of Maghrebi origin. It has been suggested that these were first brought to the area by the Bourbon king Charles VII of Naples.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN   9788850652594. p. 244–245.
  2. Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. p. 64. Accessed September 2013.
  3. Consistenze Provinciali della Razza G6 MATESINA Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed September 2013.
  4. Breed data sheet: Matesina. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2013.