The Napoletana is a

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 ...

domestic goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

from the area south of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, in

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

in southern Italy. It is raised on the slopes of

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9 ...

, on the slopes of the

Monti Lattari The Monti Lattari (Lattari Mountains) are a mountain range in Campania, southern Italy, which constitutes the backbone of the Sorrentine peninsula and of the Amalfi Coast. Geography The Monti Lattari are the western extension of the Monti Picent ...

, and in the

Agro Nocerino Sarnese The Agro Nocerino Sarnese is a geographical region of the Province of Salerno, in Campania in southern Italy; the river Sarno flows through it. It is a low-lying area bounded to the south by the Monti Lattari, to the east and north-east by the ...

which lies between them. The origin of the breed is unknown. It may derive from goats of African origin imported to the area in the early years of the twentieth century; the alternative name Torca Nera, "black Turkish goat", suggests an origin in the Mediterranean basin. The Napoletana 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 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- and goat-breeders; the herdbook was established in 2002. The Napoletana was in the past numerous. By the early 1980s the population had fallen substantially, to . At the end of 2013 the registered population was reported as 71.

Use

The

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

yield of the Napoletana is high. In a

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...

of 165 days it averages litres for

primiparous In biology and human medicine, gravidity and parity are the number of times a woman is or has been pregnant (gravidity) and carried the pregnancies to a viable gestational age (parity). These terms are usually coupled, sometimes with additional te ...

and litres for

pluriparous In biology and human medicine, gravidity and parity are the number of times a woman is or has been pregnant (gravidity) and carried the pregnancies to a viable gestational age (parity). These terms are usually coupled, sometimes with additional te ...

nannies. The milk has 4.7% fat, 3.4% protein and contains 5%

lactose Lactose is a disaccharide sugar synthesized by galactose and glucose subunits and has the molecular formula C12H22O11. Lactose makes up around 2–8% of milk (by mass). The name comes from ' (gen. '), the Latin word for milk, plus the suffix '' - ...

. Kids are usually slaughtered at a weight of .

References

Goat breeds Dairy goat breeds Meat goat breeds Goat breeds originating in Italy Ark of Taste foods {{Italy-stub