The Casertana is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable 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 seve ...

of domestic

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

from

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern 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 Islan ...

, in southern Italy. It is mainly associated with the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Caserta Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

, from which its name derives, but was in the past also raised in the provinces of

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sannio and Matese mountains. Campobas ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

. The area of the lower basin of the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri" ...

and

Volturno The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy. Geography It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southe ...

rivers, including the

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

Carinola Carinola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located c. northwest of Naples, c. northwest of Caserta, and c. southeast of Rome. Carinola borders the following municipalities: Falciano del ...

Mondragone Mondragone (Campanian: ) is a ''comune'' or municipality in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region of Campania. It is located about northwest of Naples and about west of Caserta. History In the Middle Ages, it was occupied by the Norma ...

Minturno Minturno is a city and ''comune'' in southern Lazio, Italy, situated on the north west bank of the Garigliano (known in antiquity as the Liris). It has a station on the Rome-Naples main railway line. History The nearby sanctuary of Marica w ...

Sessa Aurunca Sessa Aurunca is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy. It is located on the south west slope of the extinct volcano of Roccamonfina, by rail west north west of Caserta and east of Formia. It is situated on ...

and

Teano Teano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, northwest of Caserta on the main line to Rome from Naples. It stands at the southeast foot of an extinct volcano, Rocca Monfina. Its St. Clement's cathedral is ...

, was particularly known for production of the breed, which may also be known as the Teanese after the town of Teano. The Casertana has two unusual physical traits: it is virtually or totally hairless, which gives rise to its alternative name Pelatella, "hairless one"; and it has two wattles or cylindrical appendages hanging from the lower part of the throat. It is one of the six autochthonous pig breeds recognised by the

Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (), or MASAF, is an Italian government department. It was formed in 1946 as the Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste ("Ministry of Agriculture and Forests"), and following the refe ...

, the Italian ministry of agriculture and forestry.

History

The Casertana was in the past numerous and widely distributed in Italy. According to a census taken in 1942, there were more than 50,000 head in the province of Caserta alone. As with other indigenous Italian pig breeds, numbers fell sharply in the second part of the twentieth century, and the Casertana came close to extinction. A herdbook was established in 2001, and is kept by the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Suini, the Italian national association of pig breeders. The population remains low: at the end of 2007 it was 594, and conservation status of the breed was listed as "critical" by the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

. At the end of 2012 there were 403 pigs registered.

References

Pig breeds originating in Italy Italian products with protected designation of origin {{Pig-stub