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 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 Appenninica is a modern Italian breed of sheep from the central Apennine Mountains. It is raised principally in the regions of Tuscany and Umbria, but also in Abruzzo, Emilia–Romagna, Lazio and the Marche. It was created in the 1970s by cross-breeding and selective breeding of various local sheep of those regions with the Bergamasca and with Ile-de-France and Berrichon du Cher stock from France.
The Bergamasca is a breed of domestic sheep from the mountainous part of the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It originates from the area of the Val Brembana and the Val Seriana valleys, and is particularly associated with the plateau of Clusone. By the beginning of the 20th century it had spread through much of Lombardy; it is now raised in most parts of mainland Italy, particularly the province of Teramo in Abruzzo, where more than 80% of the registered stock are kept. The Bergamasca is also present in Brazil, Serbia and Venezuela. It is raised principally for meat, and is often used for cross-breeding with other meat breeds to improve meat yield. In Lombardy, it is traditionally raised by transhumant management: the herds spend the summers on the alpine pasture, and over-winter in the Po valley.
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 Comisana, also known as Faccia Rossa and Lentinese, is an Italian breed of domestic sheep indigenous to central and northern areas of the Mediterranean island of Sicily. Its name derives from that of the comune of Comiso, in the province of Ragusa. It is raised principally in the provinces of Caltanissetta, Enna and Palermo, but is found in many other Italian provinces and has also been exported to other Mediterranean countries.
The Fabrianese is a modern Italian 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. It 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 Brentegana is an Italian 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. 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 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 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 Altamurana is an Italian breed of sheep from the province of Bari, in Puglia in southern Italy. It is of Asiatic, possibly Syrian, origin. It is raised mainly in the provinces of Bari and Foggia, and takes its name from the town of Altamura, in the Murge. 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 an average of 7.5% fat and 6.5% protein.
The Valle del Belice is an Italian 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 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 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.
