The Savoiarda or razza di Cuorgné is a threatened

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 upland

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 the

province of Turin The province of Turin (; ; ) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Turin. Geography It ...

, in

Piemonte Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the northwest. Pied ...

, north-west Italy. The few remaining breeders are in the

Val Chisone The Val Chisone is one of the Occitan valleys of western Piedmont, situated in the Cottian Alps in the Metropolitan City of Turin in north-west Italy. Geography Traditionally, the valley's entrances are considered the towns of Pinerolo and Sestr ...

, the

Val di Susa The Susa Valley (; ; ; ; ) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the south. It is one of the longest valleys of the Italian Alps. It ...

, the

Valli di Lanzo The Lanzo Valleys (in Italian ''Valli di Lanzo'', in Piedmontese ''Valade ëd Lans'') is a group of three valleys in the north-west of Piedmont in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy. They are located in the Graian Alps of Piedmont, between the ...

and 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 weste ...

History

The origins of the Savoiarda are not clear; it appears to be related to the

Thônes et Marthod Thônes () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, and is the ″capital″ of local cheeses Reblochon and Chevrotin. Geography The Fier flows northwestward through the middle of ...

breed from the area of

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

, in France, which lies to the west of Piemonte. Out-crossing to other breeds including the

Biellese The Biellese is a breed of large domestic sheep indigenous to the province of Biella, in Piedmont in north-western Italy, from which it takes its name. It may also be known as the Razza d'Ivrea, after the town of Ivrea, or as the Piemontese A ...

and the

Frabosana The Frabosana is a breed of sheep from the valleys of the Monregalese, the area around Mondovì in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte in north-west Italy. It takes its name from the comuni of Frabosa Soprana and Frabosa Sottana, and was once ...

have reduced the productivity of the Savoiarda, caused a loss of morphological characteristics, and contributed to its decline. It is also threatened by the industrialisation of the lower Val di Susa. It 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. In 2013 the total number for the breed was 120.

Characteristics

The Savoiarda is of medium size. Weight is variable, but averages for rams and for ewes. Rams usually stand at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

, and ewes about . The head is rather large, with a convex profile. Rams are usually horned, with robust spiral horns; in ewes the horns are small or absent. The ears are narrow and slightly drooping. The face is white with black "spectacles" round the eyes; the muzzle is black, sometimes with white patches, and the legs are white with some black spotting. The coat is off-white.

Use

The Savoiarda was traditionally a triple-purpose breed, raised for meat, milk and wool. It is now reared mainly for meat. Lambs are slaughtered at a weight of . Ewes give of milk per lactation, most of which goes to the lambs. Rams yield about of wool per year, and ewes about The wool is coarse, suitable for making mattresses, with a staple length of about .

References

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