The Altamurana is an Italian breed of sheep from the province of Bari, in Puglia in southern Italy. It is of Asiatic, possibly Syrian, origin. It is raised mainly in the provinces of Bari and Foggia, and takes its name from the town of Altamura, in the Murge. It was formerly considered a triple-purpose breed, yielding meat, milk, and wool; it is now kept principally for milk production. It yields approximately of milk per lactation, with an average of 7.5% fat and 6.5% protein.
The Altamurana is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. In 1984, the breed population was estimated at head. In 2012, the total number recorded for the breed was 230; it is considered to be at risk of extinction.
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, page 9. Archived 21 September 2013.
Consistenze Provinciali della Razza 25 ALTAMURANA Anno 2012 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed December 2013.
Caratteri tipici e indirizzi di miglioramento della razza Altamurana (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. .
Breed data sheet: Altamurana/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2013.