The or is an Italian breed of domestic goat indigenous to Calabria in southern Italy. It is raised mostly in the provinces of Catanzaro and Cosenza, where it is present in substantial numbers. It may also be known as the or the .
History
The Rustica di Calabria has been little studied, and its origins remain unclear. It may derive in part from other breeds including the Garganica and the Maltese, or others whose introduction to Calabria in the early twentieth century is documented, such as the Abyssinian or the type known as the "Tibetan".
It is one of the forty-three autochthonous Italian goat breeds of limited distribution for which a herd-book is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders. At the end of 2013 the registered population was , most of which were in the province of Cosenza; for 2023 a total number of head is reported – including registered breeding nannies and 694 active billies – in the hands of 106 breeders. In 2025 the conservation status of the breed was listed in DAD-IS as "not at risk".
Characteristics
The Rustica di Calabria is highly variable. The coat may be of various shades of black, brown or white. Both sexes are horned and bearded. Body weights are in the range for billies and for nannies; heights at the shoulder are and about respectively.
Nannies give birth once a year; the twinning rate is approximately 50%.
Use
The milk yield of pluriparous Rustica di Calabria nannies is litres per lactation of 150 days. Kids are usually slaughtered at a weight of .
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 N9 Rustica di Calabria Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Archived 23 September 2015.
Norme tecniche della popolazione caprina "Rustica di Calabria": standard della razza (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia. Archived 23 September 2015.
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: Rustica di Calabria / Italy (Goat). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
Strutture Zootecniche (Dec. 2009/712/CE - Allegato 2 - Capitolo 2) (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali. Section I (e). Archived 4 May 2014.
Lorenzo Noè, Alessandro Gaviraghi, Andrea D'Angelo, Adriana Bonanno, Adriana Di Trana, Lucia Sepe, Salvatore Claps, Giovanni Annicchiarico, Nicola Bacciu (2005). Le razze caprine d'Italia (in Italian); in: Giuseppe Pulina (2005). L' alimentazione della capra da latte. Bologna: Avenue Media. , pages 381–435. Archived 5 October 2014.