Aspromontana
| Conservation status | FAO (2007): no data[1]: 67 |
|---|---|
| Other names |
|
| Country of origin | Italy |
| Distribution | Province of Reggio Calabria |
| Standard | MIPAAF |
| Use | dual-purpose, milk and meat[3]: 319 |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Height | |
| Skin colour | grey-black or pink according to hair colour[3]: 319 |
| Coat | very variable |
| Horn status | usually horned[4] |
| Beard | usually bearded[4] |
| Tassels | usually present[4] |
| |
The Aspromontana or Capra dell'Aspromonte[2] is an Italian breed of domestic goat indigenous to the mountain massif of the Aspromonte – for which it is named – in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria in southern Italy. It is raised only in the province of Reggio Calabria, mainly in the Aspromonte, in the Altipiano dello Zomaro to the north-east, and in the Ionian coastal areas of the province, and particularly in areas of Grecanic culture.[3]: 318 While the breed is thought to originate on the Aspromonte, it may have been influenced by the various other goat breeds, including the Abyssinian goat, the Maltese, and a type known as "Tibetan" with long silky hair, whose importation to Calabria in the early twentieth century is well documented.[3]: 318
The Aspromontana is one of the forty-three autochthonous Italian goat breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders.[5] At the end of 2013 the registered population was variously reported as 27164[6] and as 26249.[2]
Characteristics
[edit]The Aspromontana is of medium size, standing about 70 cm (28 in) at the withers; average weight is 64 kg (140 lb) for billies and 43 kg (95 lb) for nannies. The head is small, with a straight profile. Horns, beard and tassels are usually present in both sexes. The horns are lyre-shaped, larger in the male, and often broad and flattened at the base. The hooves are dark slate-grey.[4]
The hair is long, rough in billies and somewhat smoother in nannies, with a soft undercoat. The coat colour is highly variable: red (phaeomelanic) is most common, but bi-coloured red-and-white, black-and-white or brown-and-red, solid grey or brown and belted variants also occur.[7]: 358 [4]
The annual fertility rate (percentage of matings that result in a birth) is 98%; average age of first parturition of 15 months.[4]
Breeding goals are to improve prolificity (twinning rate) and the yield and quality of meat and milk. Some conformational defects, such as crop ear, are tolerated, while others, such as a short coat or a coarse or heavy head, are not.[4]
The goats are well adapted to the harsh climatic and environmental conditions of their mountain habitat.[8]: 434
Use
[edit]The Aspromontana is a dual-purpose goat, raised both for meat and for milk.[3]: 319 It is a frugal and hardy breed, and has an important role in vegetation management and maintenance of the mountain pastures of the Aspromonte massif, thus contributing to fire prevention, soil stability and the conservation of local biodiversity and the ecosystem.[4]
The minimum milk yield of Aspromontana nannies is 120 kg in 150 days for primiparous, 130 kg in 160 days for secondiparous and 180 kg in 210 days for pluriparous animals.[4][6] Reported averages are, respectively, 140 kg in 150 days, 150 kg in 160 days, and 220 kg in 210 days.[4] The milk averages 3.95% fat, 3.57% protein and 4.63% lactose, and is used to make local cheeses of many kinds.[3]: 319 These include, among others, caciotta, cacioricotta, canestrato dell'Aspromonte, caprino dell'Aspromonte, caprino di Limina, giuncata di capra, musulupu dell'Aspromonte, mixed-milk cheeses such as caciocavallo di Ciminà, and various kinds of fresh, baked, smoked or salted ricotta.[3]: 319 Many of these have PAT status as traditional products of the area.[9]
Consumption of goat's meat, particularly that of adult nannies, is markedly higher in the province of Reggio Calabria than anywhere else in Italy.[3]: 319 Calabrian goat's meat has PAT status,[9] and there are numerous traditional local goat's-meat dishes.[3]: 319 Aspromontana kids weigh about 3.2 kg at birth, and reach 9 kg at 30 days.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (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: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Breed data sheet: Capra dell'Aspromonte / Italy (Goat). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN 9788850652594.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Norme tecniche della popolazione caprina "Capra dell'Aspromonte": standard della razza (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia. Archived 29 November 2014.
- ^ Strutture Zootecniche (Dec. 2009/712/CE - Allegato 2 - Capitolo 2) (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali. Section I (e). Archived 4 December 2013.
- ^ a b Consistenze Provinciali della Razza 89 Aspromonte Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Archived 29 November 2014.
- ^ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ Giuseppe Piccione, Vincenzo Monteverde, Maria Rizzo, Irene Vazzana, Anna Assenza, Alesssandro Zumbo, Pietro Paolo Niutta (2014). Reference intervals ofsome electrophoretic and haematological parameters in Italian goats: comparison between Girgentana and Aspromontana breeds. Journal of Applied Animal Research. 42 (4):434-439. doi:10.1080/09712119.2013.875914. (subscription required).
- ^ a b Emilio Gatto (5 June 2014). Quattordicesima revisione dell'elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali (in Italian). Gazzetta Ufficiale. 141 (20 June 2014), supplement: 7.