The Frabosana is a breed of

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 sh ...

from the valleys of the Monregalese, the area around Mondovì in the

province of Cuneo Cuneo ( Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Hautes ...

, in

Piemonte it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in north-west Italy. It takes its name from the

comuni 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 ...

Frabosa Soprana Frabosa Soprana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southeast of Cuneo. Frabosa Soprana borders the following municipalities: Frabosa Sottana, Magliano Al ...

and

Frabosa Sottana Frabosa Sottana is a ' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southeast of Cuneo. The economy is based on winter tourism, based on the nearby ski resort of Prato Nevoso. Fr ...

, and was once the most numerous sheep breed of Piemonte. It is raised in the

Valle Gesso Valle Gesso is a valley in the Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Proven ...

, the Valle Grana, the Valle Pesio, the

Valle Vermenagna Valle may refer to: * Valle (surname) Geography *"Valle", the cultural and climatic zone of the dry subtropical Interandean Valles of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina *University of Valle, a public university in Cali, Colombia ...

and the Valli Monregalesi in the

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

of Cuneo, and in the

Val Pellice The Pellice (in Piedmontese ''Pélis'') is a Italian torrent, which runs through the Metropolitan City of Turin. The stream is a tributary of the Po River, into which it flows near Villafranca Piemonte. Geography The stream is formed at the w ...

in the

province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

. Two types are recognised within the breed, the Roaschino in the

Ligurian Alps The Ligurian Alps are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. A small part is located in France. They form the south-western extremity of the Alps, separated from the Apennines by the Colle di Cadibona. The Col de Tende and the Vermenagna valley ...

, and the slightly smaller Frabosana raised in the area of Mondovì. The Frabosana is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a 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 i ...

, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. The conservation status of the breed was listed as "not at risk" 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. In 2013 total numbers for the breed were 4284.

References

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