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The transumanza is the Italian term for transhumance, the traditional twice yearly migration of sheep and cows from the highlands to the lowlands, and back. The word literally means "crossing the land".
Transhumance is an ancient Italian custom, today scarcely surviving, by which large flocks of sheep in the mid fall were driven south from the hilly and mountainous regions of the Apennines to winter over in the more southern coastal plains of Apulia and, less commonly, Lazio. A much more limited version of these migrations took place in the Alpine and Prealpine areas of Valle d'Aosta, Lombardy and Piedmont. In the mid spring of each year this migratory pattern was reversed as the herds traveled to the fresher and greener pastures of the higher Apennine elevations in the Abruzzo Region of Italy. Over the years transhumance affected the entire economy of Apulia, strongly favoring the clearing of land for sheep grazing at the expense of agriculture and forestry.
In past centuries, the Transumanza had a great impact on the lives of the shepherds whose job was made more difficult by the lack of modern agricultural machinery, enclosed pens for grazing, and refrigeration of the sheep's milk that was gathered along the way. Economic concerns were established at the grazing sites, these dealing with the production and sale of cheese, sheepskins, and wool. Much of the work was carried out by men with women remaining behind in Abruzzo. The well-worn paths along which the sheep traveled during their migrations were referred to as "tratturi". The three main pathways included those between L'Aquila and Foggia (called "The King's pathway"), Celano and Foggia, and Pescasseroli and Candela ("The wool pathway"). [1] The migrations many times lasted up to two weeks with stops at locations known as "stazioni di posta" (post stations).
In earlier times, sheep migrations similar to the transumanza were also conducted in Spain and the Balkan states. The custom was at its peak in the fifteenth century following the population losses in the area due to the Black Plague.
Abruzzo is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the Gran Sasso d'Italia, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
The Mesta was a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and was dissolved in 1836. Although best known for its organisation of the annual migration of transhumant sheep, particularly those of the Merino breed, the flocks and herds of all species of livestock in Castile and their owners were under the oversight of the Mesta, including both the transhumant and the sedentary ones. The transhumant sheep were generally owned in Old Castile and León, where they had their summer pastures, and they migrated to and from winter pastures of Extremadura and Andalusia according to the season.
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions, it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Generally only the herds travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them, while the main population stays at the base. In contrast, horizontal transhumance is more susceptible to being disrupted by climatic, economic, or political change.
The Province of Foggia is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy.
The Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog, Italian: Cane da pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese, also called Maremmano, Maremma Sheepdog or Abruzzese Sheepdog, is an Italian breed of livestock guardian dog. It is indigenous to central Italy, particularly to Abruzzo and to the Maremma region of Tuscany and Lazio. It has been used for centuries by Italian shepherds to guard sheep from wolves. The literal English translation of the name is "shepherd dog of the Maremma and Abruzzo". The English name of the breed derives from that of the Maremma marshlands where, until recently, shepherds, dogs and hundreds of thousands of sheep over-wintered, and where the dogs are still abundant although sheep-farming has decreased substantially. It is widely employed in Abruzzo, where sheep herding remains vital to the rural economy and the wolf remains an active and protected predator.
Foggia is a city and former comune of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".
Ordona is a small town and comune of the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia in southern Italy.
The Iapygians or Apulians were an Indo-European speaking people, dwelling in an eponymous region of the southeastern Italian Peninsula named Iapygia between the beginning of the first millennium BC and the first century BC. They were divided into three tribes: the Daunians, Peucetians and Messapians. After their lands were gradually colonized by the Romans from the late 4th century onward and eventually annexed to the Roman Republic by the early 1st century BC, Iapygians were fully Latinized and assimilated into Roman culture.
Pescasseroli is a town and comune in the province of L'Aquila, in Southern Abruzzo, central Italy.
Nomadic pastoralism is a form of pastoralism in which livestock are herded in order to seek for fresh pastures on which to graze. True nomads follow an irregular pattern of movement, in contrast with transhumance, where seasonal pastures are fixed. However, this distinction is often not observed and the term 'nomad' used for both—and in historical cases the regularity of movements is often unknown in any case. The herded livestock include cattle, water buffalo, yaks, llamas, sheep, goats, reindeer, horses, donkeys or camels, or mixtures of species. Nomadic pastoralism is commonly practised in regions with little arable land, typically in the developing world, especially in the steppe lands north of the agricultural zone of Eurasia.
Valle Soprana is a small village in the province of Teramo, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is a frazione of the town of Teramo.
Villa Popolo is a small village in the province of Teramo, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Torricella Sicura.
Casalvecchio is an Arbëreshë comune and village in the Province of Foggia, Apulia, southern Italy. Mostly originating from a 15th-century migration of Albanians, the residents have subsisted by family farming. Of those native to the area for generations, many have continued to use Arbëresh, even those of the post–World War II generation.
Monti della Laga is a mountain range in the central Apennines of Italy. Their ruggedness and inaccessibility makes them one of the lesser known areas of the Italian peninsula.
Calascio is a comune and village in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
Castel del Monte is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and comune in the province of L'Aquila in northern Abruzzo, Italy. Located in the heart of the Gran Sasso mountain range, the town is set into a steep hillside nestled beneath mountain peaks near the high plain of Campo Imperatore. Castel del Monte sits opposite the ancient mountaintop fortress of Rocca Calascio and faces Monte Sirente in the distance. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.
The Tavoliere delle Puglie is a plain in northern Apulia, southern Italy, occupying nearly a half of the Capitanata traditional region. It covers a surface of c. 3,000 km², once constituting a sea bottom: it is bounded by the Daunian Pre-Apennines on the West, the Gargano Promontory and the Adriatic Sea on the East, by the Fortore river on the north, and the Ofanto river on the south. It is the largest Italian plain after the Pianura Padana.
The Altopiano delle Murge is a karst topographic plateau of rectangular shape in southern Italy. Most of it lies within Apulia and corresponds with the sub-region known as Murgia or Le Murge. The plateau lies mainly in the Metropolitan City of Bari and the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, but extends into the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto to the south; and into Matera in Basilicata to the west. The name is believed to originate from the Latin murex, meaning "sharp stone".
Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing livestock between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer. Transhumance is a traditional practice that has shaped much of the landscape in the Alps, as without it, most areas below 2,000 m (6,600 ft) would be forests. While tourism and industry contribute today much to Alpine economy, seasonal migration to high pastures is still practiced in Bavaria, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, France and Switzerland, except in their most frequented tourist centers. In some places, cattle are taken care of by local farmer families who move to higher places. In others, this job is for herdsmen who are employees of the cooperative owning the pastures.
Sheep farming has been important to the economy of Wales. Much of Wales is rural countryside and sheep are seen throughout the country. The woollen industry in Wales was a major contributor to the national economy, accounting for two-thirds of the nation's exports in 1660. Sheep farms are most often situated in the country's mountains and moorlands, where sheepdogs are employed to round up flocks. Sheep are also reared, however, along the south and west coasts of Wales. In 2017 there were more than 10 million sheep in Wales and the total flock made up nearly 33% of the British total. In 2011 sheep farming accounted for 20% of agriculture in Wales.
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