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 the mountains of
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 ...
in north-west Italy. It is raised in the provinces of
Biella
Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...
,
Cuneo
Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area.
It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...
and
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, particularly in the area of
Biella
Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...
and the
Valsesia
Valsesia (; Walser German: ''Tseschrutol'') is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia.
The major towns located here are Varallo Sesia, Borgosesia ...
. It apparently derives from the Biellese, from which it is distinguished by its short ears. 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 1983 the population was estimated at 100 head, and in 2000 it was 1,950. In 2013 the total number for the breed was 5,350.