It’s an old bovine breed, used for the farm work, with a light gray coat with darker grays stripes and long horns (lyre-shaped for the sow and halfmoon-shaped for the boar).
The boar is remarkably strong and specially apt to increase the meat production when crossed with other breeds.
It’s a slow-growing breed – and therefore not cost-effective for the breeders – but produces a top quality meat.Calves are weaned at four or five months of age and then led to the graze or to specially equipped cattleshed. It’s a very strong animal, specially good for grazing in difficult terrains.
Meat is of best quality, tasty and tender, and come from the boars of age between 12 and 24 month (called ‘vitelloni’), weighting about 600/700 kgs. The sows are called ‘scottone’ (about 500 kgs) and, when not bred for reproduction, provide a very tender meat; at the end of their career as breeder the meat of the cows is specially good for broth. The ‘Romagnola’ breed also gives the best rib entrecotes (the famous ‘Fiorentina’ steak).
History
The ‘Romagnola’ is an old breed originating from the ‘Bos Taurus Macrocerus’ (Big Horn Ox), arrived in Italy from Centre-Eastern Europe alongside the Barbarian people (Longobards) between the 4th and the 5th century. In the 17th century farmers begun to select the breed in order to increase the meat production; at the World Expo in Paris (1900) the great zootechnic value of the ‘Romagnola’ was officially acknowledged.
Otherwise than in the past however, this breed is only farmed today in the Apennine region (about 15.000 heads).
Production area
Most of the farming stations (about 150 for 8000 heads) can be found in the Romagna Apennine, in the district of Ravenna and in other areas.
The ‘Romagnola Bovine Breed’ was given the I.G.P. brand (Protected Geographic Indication) and the name of White Central Apennine Bullock (‘Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale’).
The brand protect the whole production cycle, from the breeding to the selling, and assures the quality of the meat.