The Orobica or Valgerola is a breed of

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 Val Gerola in the province of Sondrio, in the

Bergamo Alps The Bergamasque Alps or Bergamo Alps (Italian: ''Alpi Orobie'', sometimes translated into English as Orobic Alps) are a mountain range in the Italian Alps. They are located in northern Lombardy and named after the city Bergamo, south of the mo ...

of northern Italy. It is raised in the Val Gerola and the

Valchiavenna The Valchiavenna is an alpine valley in the province of Sondrio, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It lies to the north of Lake Como, and is traversed by the rivers Mera and Liro. It can be divided into three parts which branch from the confl ...

in the province of Sondrio, in the Alto Lario Occidentale, the

Valsassina 250px, The Valsassina plateau. Valsassina is a valley in the Alps of Lombardy, northern Italy, within the province of Lecco. It is included between the Grigne range from West, and the Bergamo Prealps which, in a half-circle stretching from North ...

and the Val Varrone in the province of Como, and in the upper

Val Brembana Val Brembana is a valley in Lombardy, northern Italy. It takes its name from the river crossing it, the Brembo. Geography The Bergamo Alps form the valley's northern limits, notably the Tre Signori and Diavolo di Tenda Peaks, while at south ...

in the Province of Bergamo. The origins of the breed are unknown; it is first documented at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Orobica is one of the eight autochthonous Italian goat breeds for which a genealogical 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. Ogni anno, la terz domenica di novembre a Casargo (LC) si tiene un'importante mostra Regionale della Capra Orobica At the end of 2013 the registered population was 1109.

Characteristics

The Orobica goat is of medium size; males weigh on average 80 kg, females about 65 kg. Both sexes have long horns and erect ears. The coat is lustrous, composed of fine long hair, with a colour varying from uniform ash-grey to violet-beige.

The Valgerola

For reasons that are not clear, the Valgerola, while always described as a synonym of the Orobica, is separately reported to , and is included in the list of goat breeds of limited distribution of the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. Numbers are reported by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, but no data has ever been entered. There are two official breed standards, one for the "Razza Orobica" and the other for the "Orobica o Valgerola".

References

{{Italy-stub Goat breeds Dairy goat breeds Lombardy Province of Sondrio Province of Como Province of Bergamo Goat breeds originating in Italy