Maremmana
Encyclopedia
Maremma
The Maremma is a vast area in Italy bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea, consisting of part of south-western Tuscany - Maremma Livornese and Maremma Grossetana , and part of northern Lazio - Maremma Laziale .The poet Dante Alighieri in his Divina Commedia places the...
, a prairie region extending in western central Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
from southern Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
to northern Lazio, usually in the provinces
Provinces of Italy
In Italy, a province is an administrative division of intermediate level between a municipality and a region .-Overview:...
of Grosseto
Province of Grosseto
The Province of Grosseto is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto.-Geography:It has an area of 4,504 km², and a total population of 227.498...
and Viterbo
Province of Viterbo
The Province of Viterbo is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. It is bordered to the north by the Province of Grosseto and Siena, by the north-east with the Province of Terni and Rieti, in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and south by the Province of Rome.It...
respectively.
The Maremmana breed is a descendent of the Taurus macroceros, a long horned cattle that spread from the Eurasian steppes throughout Europe, that can be traced in Italy as far back as the Etruscan era.
The Maremmana has a gray coat that is darker in males and lighter-colored in females, with blank apical pigmentation.
As in other breeds of Podolica descent, calves are wheat-colored at birth and then at around three months they turn to the characteristic color of the breed.
The horns are long up to 100 cm and have typical half-moon shape in males and females have lyre-shaped horns.
The Maremmana has an impressive skeletal structure that gives the adult a very solid and robust appearance. This very large sized cattle has extremely solid legs, exceptionally hard hovves and, in general, perfect perpendicularity.
It is one of the two breeds used in the preparation of the florentine steak, with the other being the better known Chianina
Chianina
The Chianina is an Italian breed of cattle, formerly principally a draught breed, now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world...
breed), and would also be used as draft oxen in the past. It would traditionally be tended by butteri
Buttero
A buttero is a shepherd or cowboy in the region of Maremma, in Tuscany in the Northern Latium and in the Pontine Marshes. The buttero habitually rides the horse typical of the Maremma, a Maremmano, and tends livestock, especially cattle and sheep. The characteristic saddle is called a bardella...
, but is now rare and is listed in the Italian Slow Food
Slow Food
Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of...
's Ark of Taste
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of heritage foods in danger of extinction which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ecoregion...
.