The Martina Franca donkey, it, Asino di Martina Franca, italic=no, is a breed of donkey from

Puglia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

in southern Italy. It is the largest Italian donkey breed, and was famous for its qualities in the production of mules. It is particularly associated with 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 ...

Martina Franca Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, th ...

from which it takes its name, but the area of origin also includes

Alberobello Alberobello (; literally "beautiful tree"; Barese: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has 10,735 inhabitants and is famous for its unique '' trullo'' buildings. The ''trulli'' of Alberob ...

Ceglie Messapica Ceglie Messapica (; scn, label= Brindisino, Cégghie) is a town, and ''comune'', located in the province of Brindisi and region of Apulia, in southern Italy, in the traditional area called Salento. Geography The area of Ceglie Messapica is loc ...

Locorotondo Locorotondo ( Barese: ) is a town and municipality of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, with a population of about 14,000. It is situated between Martina Franca and Alberobello in the Valle d'Itria, a green stretch of countr ...

Massafra Massafra () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. History According to some hypotheses,Giuseppe Blandamura,'' Choerades Insulae'', Taranto, Tipografia Arcivescovile, 1925. Massafra was founde ...

Mottola Mottola ( nap, label= Mottolese, Mòtele, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto and region of Apulia in southeast Italy. It stands on a hill above mean sea level in the sub-region of Murgia. It is also called "The Ionian Spy" ...

and

Noci Noci (Bari dialect, Nocese: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Metropolitan city of Bari in the region of Apulia, in southern Italy. It has about twenty thousand inhabitants. Established during the Norman conquest of sout ...

, in the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

. It is still raised mainly in Puglia, but there are also populations in Abruzzo,

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

, Lombardy and

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

. It is one of the eight autochthonous donkey breeds of limited distribution recognised by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture and forestry.

Use

The Martina Franca donkey was in the past used as a

beast of burden 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 ...

and as a light

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 ...

, but its principal use was in the production of mules, particularly when crossed with the

Murgese The Murgese horse originated in the Murge, Apulia area of Italy during the Spanish rule, and was developed from Barb and Arabian horses. They are a hardy breed that is used mainly for cross-country riding, although they have also been used ...

horse to produce the well-known ''mulo martinese'', or "mule of Martina Franca", which was exported throughout Italy and much used in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1925, 70% of Italian mules were produced in Puglia, and from 1926 steps were taken to limit exports outside Italy of the Martina Franca donkey, which was in strong demand and was exported to France, Germany, North America and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. In the traditional system of management, a donkey colt was separated from the mother and other donkeys at about six months old and placed with a group of mares until the age of about two. It was then kept alone in a ''

trullo A trullo (plural, trulli) is a traditional Apulian dry stone hut with a conical roof. Their style of construction is specific to the Itria Valley, in the Murge area of the Italian region of Apulia. Trulli were generally constructed as tempora ...

'', or stone field-shelter, for about a year, and began to cover mares from the age of about three. A herdbook was established in 1943, and a breeders' association, the Associazione Regionale degli Allevatori dell'Asino di Martina Franca e del Cavallo delle Murge, was formed in 1948. Demand for mules fell rapidly after 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 ...

, and both quality and numbers of the Martina Franca donkey dwindled. The tendency was reversed in the 1990s with new demand from new uses, the production of

donkey meat The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

and

asses' milk Donkey milk (or ass milk, or jenny milk) is the milk from the domesticated donkey ''(Equus asinus)''. It has been used since antiquity for cosmetic purposes as well as infant nutrition. History Donkey milk has been used by humans for alimenta ...

. A new breeders' association, the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori del Cavallo Murgese e dell'Asino di Martina Franca, was formed in 1990. In 2008 the total number for the breed was just under 400. The Martina Franca donkey was listed as "endangered" by the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

in 2007.

References

{{Equine Donkey breeds originating in Italy Donkey breeds Apulia