The Italian Landrace ( it, Landrace Italiana, italic=no) is an Italian

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 domestic

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

. It derives from the Danish Landrace breed developed in Denmark at the end of the nineteenth century. Stock was imported into Italy after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The breed has been selected principally for suitability for the production of '. It is, after the Large White Italiana, the second-most numerous pig breed in Italy. The

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

is issued by the

Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, it, Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali, italic=no or MiPAAF, is an Italian government department. It was formed in 1946 as the Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle F ...

, the Italian ministry of agriculture and forestry; the herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Suini, the national pig-breeders' association.

History

Landrace pigs were imported into Italy from Scandinavia after the end of the

. The Italian strain has been bred for size specifically to produce the "Italian heavy pig" used to make

prosciutto ''Prosciutto crudo'', in English often shortened to prosciutto ( , ), is Italian uncooked, unsmoked, and dry-cured ham. ''Prosciutto crudo'' is usually served thinly sliced. Several regions in Italy have their own variations of ''prosciutto crudo ...

and other

salumi Salumi (singular salume) are Italian meat products typical of an antipasto, predominantly made from pork and cured. Salumi also include bresaola, which is made from beef, and some cooked products, such as mortadella and prosciutto cotto. The ...

. The smaller

Belgian Landrace The Belgian Landrace, also known as the Improved Belgian, Belgian Improved Landrace, and the Belgian Lop-eared, is a breed of domestic pig from northern Belgium. It was created from importing English breeds and improving them until they were "grad ...

is also raised in Italy, usually for fresh meat. A genealogical herdbook was established in 1970, and is kept by the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Suini, the Italian national association of pig breeders. In 2007 there were 11,749 pigs registered; at the end of 2012 the total was 5959. Most of the population is concentrated in the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

, where heavy pigs are mostly raised.

Characteristics

The Italian Landrace is a large pig, and very long in the body due to the presence of two or three supernumerary

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

– it has 15 or 16 rather than the usual 13. It is lop-eared; the hair is white, the skin is unpigmented.

Use

Meat production from the Italian Landrace is normally from first-generation crosses with either the Large White Italiana or the Duroc Italiana breed, slaughtered at a weight of almost all of it is used to make preserved meat products. The pigs are usually farmed intensively.

References

{{Landrace pig breeds navbox Pig breeds Pig breeds originating in Italy