Meat · Breed · Short entry
Romagnola
An ivory-white, grey-shaded beef breed of Romagna, in north-eastern Italy. It was improved from the mid-nineteenth century, notably on the Torlonia estate at San Mauro Pascoli. Cows carry lyre-shaped horns and bulls half-moon horns. It is one of the three breeds of the Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP.
From the steppe cattle to the Paris prize
The ANABIC standard places the Romagnola among the large-horned cattle (Bos taurus macroceros) of the steppes of east-central Europe. It repeats the traditional account that Goths brought such cattle to Romagna in the fourth century; this is the breed society's account, not a documented event. Organised improvement began in the mid-1800s on the Torlonia estate at San Mauro Pascoli, under the engineer Leopoldo Tosi. According to the standard, the Romagnola was named best meat breed, alongside the Hereford, at the 1900 Paris exhibition. Exports from the 1970s took it to the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Mexico.
The coat is ivory white with grey shading on the forequarters, around the eyes and on the neck and thighs, heavier in bulls and in winter. Horns are slate-coloured in young animals. In adults they are whitish-yellow at the base and black at the tip.
Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale
Romagnola beef can carry the Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP, shared with Chianina and Marchigiana. Calves suckle their dams until weaning. Cows generally graze from spring to autumn.
How it connects
Breed
- related Marchigiana
- similar Chianina
- similar Podolica
