The Istriana or Carsolina, , , 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

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal 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 d ...

from

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

and the

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

regions of the northern

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, from north-east Italy to

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

History

The Istriana breed appears to derive from inter-breeding of local Italian stock with breeds from the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, and particularly with animals brought to the area by the

Morlachs Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци; ; ) is an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach pastoralist community in the mountain ...

, Dacian refugees from the Ottoman invasions of the 17th century. In 1869 the sheep population in Istria was estimated at 160,000; the Istriana was the predominant breed. In the 1980s it was to a large extent supplanted by sheep of ''pramenka'' type from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

Metohija Metohija (), also known in Albanian as Dukagjini, (, ) is a large drainage basin, basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. The region covers 35% (3,891 km2) of Kosovo's total area. According to the 2024 ce ...

, which had a similar resistance to the harsh conditions of the peninsula, but lower productivity of both milk and meat and lower resistance to disease. Attempts were made to increase the milk yield by cross-breeding with

Awassi The Awassi is a breed of dairy sheep of Near-Eastern fat-tailed type. It is the most widely distributed non-European dairy breed. It is known by many names, among them Arab, Baladi, Deiri, Gezirieh, Ivesi, Shami and Syrian. It is usually wh ...

, East Friesian and Sarda stock. A project for the recovery of the traditional type of Istriana sheep has been launched in Croatia, and involves exchange of genetic material with Italy. A breeders' association, the Associazione degli Allevatori della Pecora Istriana nella Regione Istriana "Istrijanka", was formed at Sanvincenti (Svetvinčenat) in 2005. Breeding stock is estimated at 2300 head. The total number reported for 2013 was 2900–3300; for Slovenia it was 1150. In Italy, the Istriana 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 Sheep farming, pastoralists", is the Italian national body responsible for the administration of sheep- and goat-breeding. It maintains the herd books for more th ...

, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. Breed numbers fell drastically in the second half of the 20th century, from 10,000 in 1960 to 250 in 1983. In 2013 total numbers for the breed were recorded as 635.

References

Sheep breeds originating in Italy {{Sheep-stub

History

See also

References