Maremmana primitiva

The Maremmana breed comes from Maremma, a prairie and coastal dune region in western central Italy. Maremmana cattle are perfectly adapted to wet and marshy areas, but do well in mountains as well. Its roots are traced back to the Etruscan era, more than 2,000 years ago. The Maremmana primitiva has strong aurochs features like the size, colour setting, thick horns, clear difference in colour between males and females and a natural herd structure. Studies of their mitochondrial DNA suggest the breed has a direct line to aurochs. They are long-legged and large cattle, with bulls reaching up to 170 cm shoulder height. Furthermore, the bulls have a swung back line, caused by the strongly expressed shoulder area. Maremmana primitiva are extremely hardy cattle and can survive well on poor forage. In Italy, the Maremmana live in natural semi-feral herds.