Cinisara

What do Cinisara cattle look like?

The Cinisara is a two-job farm animal: cows are milked and their calves are raised for beef. The coat is black in the usual animal, and some carry a white marking: one stripe follows the spine, called the dorsal line, and another runs along the belly, the ventral side. Both bulls and cows carry horns; this is not a polled breed, meaning one that naturally lacks them. The breed belongs to Sicily, and more exactly to the province of Palermo. Within Italy it counts as a minor local type, one of sixteen such breeds with a small area of spread, and it sits under the wing of the national farm ministry, which lists it and guards it.

Where does the Cinisara come from?

The breed is Sicilian, tied to one administrative corner of the island: the province of Palermo, named for the city at its heart. Within Italy's system for native cattle, the Cinisara appears on a special roll: the national farm ministry keeps a list of sixteen breeds classed as minor, ones whose spread across the country stays small, and this Sicilian type holds a place on it. A place on that roll brings the ministry's attention, which both acknowledges the breed and shields it. So the story on file is plain: a local Sicilian animal whose standing is official.

What the Cinisara is known for

The Cinisara earns its keep on both sides of the farm. It is classed as dual-purpose, meaning one animal serves the pail and the meat trade: the cow gives milk, and her calf grows on for beef. Where a farm wants milk and meat from the same herd, a breed of this kind fits. The type is also known by its look, a black hide often set off by pale lines above and below, and by its horns. Beyond these points, its standing rests on scarcity: it is one of sixteen Italian breeds classed as minor because their range is small, which places it among the country's very local stocks.

What the Cinisara is kept for

Milk and beef are the two products the breed is kept for, with neither put first. The Cinisara is therefore a dual-purpose cow: she can be milked, and her calves are brought on for meat. For a small farm, one breed that fills both jobs saves keeping separate milking and beef stock. This two-sided use shapes how the animals are judged: a good Cinisara cow should give milk worth selling and rear a calf worth finishing. The breed does this work close to home, on the island of Sicily, chiefly in the lands of the province of Palermo.

The land and climate of the Cinisara

The breed's ground is Sicily, Italy's southern island, and within it the province of Palermo. The record ties the Cinisara to that one district and to nothing wider: its listing as a minor breed of limited spread reflects a range that stays close to home. A traveller drawn to the breed would set out for the Palermo province, where the cattle are rooted.

Numbers, conservation and the herd book

Italy sorts its native cattle into larger and smaller stocks, and the Cinisara sits in the smaller group. It is counted among sixteen breeds the country calls minor, a label that points to a limited spread: these are local populations rather than national mainstays. The breed does not drift unwatched, though. Italy's agriculture ministry has the Cinisara on its list, giving it both recognition and protection, so its standing as a breed carries official backing. Its range is described as limited and its home is the province of Palermo in Sicily, making this a breed of one corner of one island rather than a nationwide animal.

Questions people ask about Cinisara

Good reading and sources

• Cinisara on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data