The Maremmana is a breed of cattle reared in the

Maremma The Maremma (, ; from Latin , "maritime and) is a coastal area of western central Italy, bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea. It includes much of south-western Tuscany and part of northern Lazio. It was formerly mostly marshland, often malarial, bu ...

, a former marshland region in southern

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

and northern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in central Italy. It is raised principally in the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

.Consistenze al 31.12.2012
(in Italian). Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Bovini Italiani da Carne. Accessed December 2013.

History

The origins of the Maremmana breed are entirely obscure. Some sources maintain that the Maremmana descends from the ''

Bos taurus macrocerus ''Bos'' (from Latin '' bōs'': cow, ox, bull) is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. ''Bos'' is often divided into four subgenera: ''Bos'', ''Bibos'', ''Novibos'', and ''Poephagus'', but including these last three divisions within the genu ...

'' of which archeological evidence is preserved in the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

remains of

Caere : Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, to ...

and

Vetulonia Vetulonia, formerly called Vetulonium ( Etruscan: ''Vatluna''), was an ancient town of Etruria, Italy, the site of which is probably occupied by the modern village of Vetulonia, which up to 1887 bore the name of Colonnata and Colonna di Buriano: t ...

, with a later admixture of Podolic cattle brought into the Italian peninsula by the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

and other invaders from the East. Others suggest that the Maremmana is a direct descendant of those Asiatic grey cattle,La Maremmana
(in Italian). Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Bovini Italiani da Carne. Accessed December 2013. while still others maintain that it descends directly from the

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocen ...

, ''Bos primigenius primigenius''.F. Ciani, A. Giorgetti, C. Sargentini, M. Occidente, D. Matassino (2010)
Bovino Maremmano "Primitivo": Ecologia, origine, Etologia e allevamento
(in Italian). ''Taurus'' 21(4): 21-34 For centuries large herds of Maremmana cattle were raised in the malarial marshlands of the Maremma, herded by the butteri, the mounted herdsmen of the region. Between 1737 and 1859 Tuscany was ruled by the Habsburg Grand-Dukes, who sent Maremmano bulls to their estates in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

to improve their

Hungarian Grey Cattle The Hungarian Grey ( hu, Magyar Szürke, italic=no), also known as the Hungarian Grey Steppe, is a Hungarian breed of beef cattle. It belongs to the group of Podolic cattle and is characterised by long lyre-shaped horns and a pale grey coat. I ...

. Following the drainage of the marshes in the

Battle for Land The Battle For Land, started in 1928 in Italy by Benito Mussolini, aimed to clear marshland and make it suitable for farming, as well as reclaiming land and reducing health risks. Aims The primary aims of the Battle for Land was to increase the ...

of the Fascist era, and consequent destruction of the wetland habitat, efforts were made to improve the breed, and in particular to increase its body weight, with considerable success. A herd book for the breed was opened in 1935.Breed data sheet: Maremmana/Italy
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2013. 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 ...

and the mechanisation of agriculture caused a rapid fall in breed numbers. In 1956, a population of 157,387 head was recorded; in 2006, total breed numbers were 8812. In recent years there has been new recognition of the perfect adaptation of the breed to the harsh terrain and poor pastures of the Maremma, where the Maremmana is capable of surviving in a semi-feral state throughout the year with only minimal management on land that would otherwise be abandoned. At the end of 2012 the total number recorded in the herd book for the breed was 9801.

Characteristics

The Maremmana is grey; males are darker than females, especially on the foreparts. The muzzle, hooves, switch and lower part of the scrotum are black; the skin is black, but some depigmentation at natural openings is tolerated. As in other breeds of Podolic origin, calves are born wheat-coloured and become grey at about three months old. The horns are robust; in males they are of half-moon shape, in females lyre-shaped. They are slate-grey in young animals, and become whitish with black tips in adulthood.

Uses

The Maremmana was formerly used as a

draught animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for t ...

,Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). ''Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia'' (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. . p. 35–37. principally in agriculture and forestry, but also for haulage work, for example in the marble quarries of

Monte Amiata Mount Amiata is the largest of the lava domes in the Amiata lava dome complex located about 20 km northwest of Lake Bolsena in the southern Tuscany region of Italy. It is located within the provinces of Grosseto and Siena. Geology Mount Am ...

. It is today raised principally for meat; the breed standard was substantially altered in 1986 to favour productivity over other characteristics. It is one of the two breeds used in the preparation of the ''

bistecca alla fiorentina The bistecca alla fiorentina (beefsteak Florentine style) is an Italian steak made of young steer (''vitellone'') or heifer (''scottona'') that, combined with the specific preparation, makes it one of the most popular dishes of Tuscan cuisine. ...

'', the other being the better-known

Chianina The Chianina () is an Italian breed of large white cattle. It was formerly principally a draught breed; it is now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world. The ''bistecca alla fiorentina'' is ...

. The Maremmana is listed in the Italian

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regi ...

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ...

.Presìdi Slow Food in Italia: Razza maremmana
(in Italian). Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità Onlus. Accessed December 2013.

History

Characteristics

Uses

References

Further reading