The Chianina () is an Italian breed of large white cattle. It was formerly principally a draught breed; it is now raised mainly for

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world. 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. ...

'' is produced from its meat.

History

The Chianina is one of the oldest breeds of cattle. It originates in the area of the

Valdichiana The Val di Chiana, Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley is an alluvial valley of central Italy, lying on the territories of the provinces of Arezzo and Siena in Tuscany and the provinces of Perugia and Terni in Umbria. Geography The Val di Chiana is ...

, from which it takes its name, and the middle

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

valley. Chianina cattle have been raised in the Italian regions of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

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

and

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

for at least 2200 years.

Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

, writing about types of oxen in about 55 AD, says "''Umbria vastos et albos'' ..." (VI.I.2), which in the first English translation is "''Umbria'' has such as are huge, and of a white colour". Chianina oxen were the principal source of agricultural power in the area until displaced by mechanisation and the collapse of the ''

mezzadria The metayage ; es, mediería ; it, mezzadria . system is the cultivation of land for a proprietor by one who receives a proportion of the produce, as a kind of sharecropping. Another class of land tenancy in France is named , whereby the rent is ...

'' system following 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 opposi ...

; they were in use in agriculture until at least 1970 and are still used in processions such as the '' corteo storico'' of the

Palio di Siena The Palio di Siena (; known locally simply as ''Il Palio''), from Latin pallium, plural form: Palii, is a horse race that is held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the ...

. From 1931 breeders began to favour selection of animals more suited to meat production, with shorter limbs, longer bodies and more heavily muscled rump and thighs; recently, selection is based also on factors such as growth rate, meat yield and, in cows, maternal ability. While one source reports a herdbook dating from 1856, others date the institution of the Libro Genealogico ("genealogical herdbook") to 1933, when a breed standard was established and commissions were set up by the then Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste (ministry of agriculture and forestry) to identify, mark and register morphologically suitable animals; the standard of the Chianina breed was fixed by

ministerial decree A ministerial decree or ministerial order is a decree by a ministry. With a ministerial decree the administrative department is delegated the task to impose a formal judgement or mandate. Ministerial decrees are usually imposed under the authority ...

of 7 August 1935. A private register was previously kept by the largest cattle breeder of the Sienese Valdichiana, the Eredi del conte Bastogi of Abbadia di Montepulciano, and a group of breeders had in 1899 formed a society, the Società degli Agricoltori della Valdichiana (society of farmers of the Valdichiana), of which a principal aim was the establishment of a herdbook. Since the Second World War the Chianina has become a world breed, raised almost exclusively for its high quality meat. Through exportation of breeding stock, of frozen semen and of embryos, it has reached China, Russia, Asian countries and the Americas.

Breed description

The Chianina is both the tallest and the heaviest breed of cattle. Mature bulls stand up to , and oxen may reach . It is not unusual for bulls to exceed in weight. Males standing over at 12 months are considered top-grade. A Chianina bull named Donetto holds the world record for the heaviest bull, reported by one source as when exhibited at the Arezzo show in 1955, but as and tall at the age of 8 by others including the Tenuta La Fratta, near

Sinalunga Sinalunga is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, in the Tuscany region of central Italy. History Aside from scanty prehistoric findings, the oldest historical remains date from the 8th century BC, when Sinalunga was perhaps an Etrusca ...

in the

province of Siena The province of Siena ( it, provincia di Siena, link=no, ) is a province in Tuscany, Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena. Geography The province is divided into seven historical areas: * Alta Val d'Elsa * Chianti senese * The urban area o ...

, where he was bred. Cows usually weigh , but commonly exceed ; those standing over are judged top-grade. Calves routinely weigh over at birth. The coat of the Chianina is white; very slight grey shading round the eyes and on the foreparts is tolerated. The skin, muzzle, switch, hooves and the tips of the horns are black, as are the natural openings – the anus,

vulva The vulva (plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering) consists of the external female sex organs. The vulva includes the mons pubis (or mons veneris), labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vestibular bulbs, vulv ...

, eyelids, palate, tongue, and lower part of the

scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum co ...

. At the end of 2010 there were 47,236 head registered in Italy, of which more than 90% were in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio; it is, after the

Marchigiana The Marchigiana is a breed of cattle native to Italy. Originating specifically in the Marche region, the Marchigiana is a large breed kept for beef today. Prior to the 1950s, it was also bred for draft work as oxen. The Marchigiana was developed ...

, the second indigenous beef breed of Italy.

Uses

The Chianina is a dual purpose breed, raised both for meat and for draught use; the milk is barely sufficient for suckling.

Draught use

Until recent years, when it was replaced by machinery, the Chianina ox was used with excellent results both in agriculture and for road transport in its area of origin, the provinces of Arezzo,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, Livorno,

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

, Pisa (parts only) and Siena, and in some parts of the more distant provinces of

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial '' comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Ca ...

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

and

Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...

. It was highly adapted to the steep hill terrain and entirely suitable to the farms of the time, to mixed agriculture and to the smallholdings of the '' mezzadri''. A typical ''casa colonica'' or rural farmhouse in the area had substantial stabling for oxen on the ground floor, while the habitable part was on the floor above. At this time four varieties were distinguishable within the breed, based on

phenotypic In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

differences resulting from different environments: the Chianina of the Valdichiana, the Chianina of the

Valdarno The Valdarno is the valley of the river Arno, although this name does not apply to the entire river basin. Usage of the term generally excludes Casentino and the valleys formed by major tributaries. Some towns in the area: * Rignano sull'Arno * ...

, the

Calvana The Calvana is a cattle breed from Tuscany, in central Italy. It is particularly associated with the Calvana region in the provinces of Florence and Prato, but is also raised in the provinces of Pistoia and Siena. It was previously considered ...

(since 1985 considered a separate breed) in the hilly country of the province of Florence, and the Perugina in the province of Perugia. The oxen, both male and female, were invariably worked in pairs, yoked with a type of neck

yoke A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...

. Today Chianina oxen are rarely seen in Italy other than at public events such as the Palio di Siena. In North America Chianina oxen are trained for participation in ox-pulling contests. Conroy shows a pair pulling on a stoneboat.

Meat production

In beef production, Chianina cattle are chosen for their growth rate, which may exceed per day, the high yield and high quality of the meat, and their tolerance of heat and sunlight. They are good foragers and have better resistance to disease and insects than many other domestic cattle. The ideal slaughter weight is , reached at 16–18 months, where the yield may be 64–65%. The meat is renowned for its quality and nutritional values. In Italy it is sold by name at premium prices by approved butchers, the sales receipt detailing the breed, birth and slaughter dates, identification number and other data of the animal in order to guarantee its origin. Each of the 18 principal cuts is branded with the "5R" symbol of the Consorzio Produttori Carne Bovina Pregiata delle Razze Italiane (consortium of producers of quality beef from Italian breeds), signifying the five indigenous beef breeds of Italy, the Chianina, the

, the

Maremmana The Maremmana is a breed of cattle reared in the Maremma, a former marshland region in southern Tuscany and northern Lazio in central Italy. It is raised principally in the provinces of Grosseto, Rome and Viterbo.Romagnola and the

Podolica The Podolica is a breed of domestic cattle from southern Italy. It belongs to the Podolic group of grey cattle. It is raised in the regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise and Puglia. It was formerly distributed throughout ...

, in accordance with a ministerial decree of 5 July 1984. For the three breeds present in central Italy, the Chianina, the Marchigiana and the Romagnola, there is also an Indicazione Geografica Protetta, or certification of region of origin, in accordance with European Community regulation 2081/92.

Cross-breeding

The Chianina breed is widely used for cross-breeding. In the United States the Chianina has been cross-bred with British breeds to reduce the fat content of meat in line with current fashion; elsewhere it has been used to transmit size, growth-rate and its relatively low skeleton weight to local breeds. It has been found to transmit well qualities such as growth-rate, meat quality, resistance to heat and cold and to insects and disease, and adaptation to rough terrain. Stock cross-bred with the Chianina may reach slaughter weight a month earlier than normal. In 1971 semen was first exported to the United States, where there are now many half-blood and quarter-blood animals. The first American Chianina x Angus calf was born on 31 January 1972 at Tannehill Ranch, near

King City, California King City (variant: Kings City) is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located on the Salinas River southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of . It lies along U.S. Route 101 in the Salinas Valley of California's Cent ...

. Within four years the American Chianina Association had established a Chiangus register, since then the Chiangus has achieved "all but total dominance" in U.S. steer shows. Chianina semen was first imported into Australia in 1973, from Canada; it has since been imported directly from Italy. The Chiangus is an established cross in Australia also.