The Sopravissana 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 ...

of domestic

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

province of Macerata The province of Macerata ( it, provincia di Macerata) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Macerata. The province includes 55 comunes (Italian: ''comuni'') in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Macera ...

, in the

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

in central Italy. The name derives from the area of origin, 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 Visso in the Monti Sibillini; it was traditionally raised mostly in that area, but flocks ranged into

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

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

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

. The Sopravissana derives from the cross-breeding of local ewes with Spanish and Rambouillet Merino rams in the 18th century. It is larger than the

Vissana The Vissana is a breed of domestic sheep from the province of Macerata, in the Marche in central Italy. It may be extinct. It takes its name from the comune of Visso in the Monti Sibillini, and is or was raised mostly in that area, extendin ...

breed from the same area.

History

The Sopravissana originated in the area of the comuni of Visso, from which the name derives, Castelsantangelo sul Nera and Ussita, in the Monti Sibillini, and was traditionally raised mostly in that area. It derived from the cross-breeding of local Apennine ewes with Spanish Merino French Rambouillet Merino rams in the second half of the 18th century, principally on the ''masserie'' (estates) of the Piscini and Rosi families. Flocks under

transhumant Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...

management ranged into

and

. The Sopravissana is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herd-book 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. The breed numbered about 1,200,000 in 1960, and 765,000 in 1970; by 1995 the number had fallen to about 6000. In 2013 total numbers recorded for the breed were 5699.

Use

The Sopravissana is a triple-purpose breed, reared for meat, milk and wool. Modern breeding is aimed at improvement of its qualities as a meat breed, and at improving prolificacy by increasing the

twinning rate Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning institu ...

and reducing the

parturition interval Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

References

Sheep breeds originating in Italy Ark of Taste foods {{Sheep-stub