breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
from the
Val Camonica
Val Camonica (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the ...
, in the
province of Brescia
The Province of Brescia ( it, provincia di Brescia; Brescian: ) is a Province in the Lombardy administrative region of northern Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 (as of January 2019) and its capital is the city of Brescia.
With an ar ...
in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, northern Italy. It is raised in the
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
of
Corteno Golgi
Corteno Golgi (; Camunian: ) is an Italian village and ''comune'' in the central Alps, in the province of Brescia, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is in the Val Camonica.
There is a museum dedicated to scientist Camillo Golgi who was born in Cort ...
, from which it takes its name, and in the neighbouring comuni of
Edolo
Edolo ( Camunian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, Lombardy, northern Italy, located in the upper Camonica valley. Edolo is neighbour to the comuni of Corteno Golgi, Incudine, Lovero, Malonno, Monno, Ponte di Legno, Saviore ...
,
Malonno
Malonno ( Camunian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. Neighbouring communes are Berzo Demo, Paisco Loveno and Sonico. It is located on the right bank of the river Oglio, in the Val Camonica
...
and
Paisco Loveno
Paisco Loveno ( Camunian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the m ...
, all lying within the Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica. 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 Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, or roughly "national association of pastoralists", is the Italian national body responsible for the administration of sheep- and goat-breeding. It maintains the herd books for more than a hundred in ...
, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.
History
The origin of the Corteno breed is unknown, but is probably shared with that of other lop-eared breeds of the Alpine region such as the Bergamasca, the
Biellese
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 ...
and the
Lamon
Lamon is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about west of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,322 and an area of .All demographics ...
. Numbers were estimated at 4000 in 1983, and at about 1600 in 1995. In 2006 the total number was estimated at 1500, of which 131 were registered in the herdbook. The conservation status of the breed was listed as "critical" by the
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
in 2007. In 2013 the number registered for the breed was 295.
Use
The meat of the Corteno is exceptionally fatty. It is traditionally used to produce Cuz, a local type of preserved meat. Whole carcases of wether
mutton
Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
are boiled in a cauldron for five or six hours with salt and a little water; the meat is then put up in
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
jars with more salt and sealed with the mutton-fat.