The Comisana, also known as the Faccia Rossa or Lentinese, is an Italian breed of domestic sheep indigenous to central and northern areas of the Mediterranean island of Sicily. Its name derives from that of the comune of Comiso, in the province of Ragusa. It is raised principally in the provinces of Caltanissetta, Enna and Palermo, but is found in many other Italian provinces and has also been exported to other Mediterranean countries.
History
The origins of the Comisana are obscure; it is a southern Mediterranean breed. It appears to derive from cross-breeding of the Sicilian Pinzirita with Maltese stock imported to Sicily towards the end of the nineteenth century.
It is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herd-book is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders; the herdbook was established in 1976. Total numbers for the breed were estimated at in 1983, of which were registered in the herdbook. In 2013 the number recorded in the herdbook was ; in 2023 it was . In 2025 the conservation status of the breed was listed in DAD-IS as "at risk/vulnerable".
Use
The milk yield of the Comisana averages per lactation for primiparous ewes, and for pluriparous ones. It may exceed . The milk has 6.5% fat and 5.2% protein. Lambs are usually slaughtered at the age of about one month, at a weight of . Rams yield about of wool, ewes about ; the wool is of coarse quality, suitable for mattresses.
References
Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Archived 21 September 2013.
Consistenze Provinciali della Razza 24 Comisana Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed January 2014.
Caratteri tipici e indirizzi di miglioramento della razza Comisana (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali. Accessed May 2014.
Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. . Archived 23 June 2020.
Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. .
Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. .
Breed data sheet: Comisana/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2014.
Breed data sheet: Comisana / Italy (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2025.