The Agerolese derives from cross-breeding of indigenous grey Podolica cattle with a variety of imported breeds including Friesian, Braunvieh and Jersey. The earliest such importation may have been by the Bourbonkings of Naples, who in the eighteenth century imported breeding stock of various breeds to improve the local grey cattle. It seems that when in 1845 the adventurer and soldier General Paolo Avitabile returned from England to his native Agerola, he brought with him Jersey cattle, which were added to the local stock. Other later crosses have included Bretonne Pie Noir, Bruna Italiana and Frisona Italiana (Italian Friesian). The breed was officially recognised and named "Agerolese" in 1952, and the breed standard was approved in the same year. At that time the breed numbered 2760 head.[2]: 6
A census of the breed completed on 1 January 2002 found a total of 200 head, of which 103 were adult (18 bulls and 85 cows). In 2007 the conservation status of the breed was reported by the FAO as "endangered-maintained".[1] At the end of 2012 a total population of 347 head was reported, including 18 breeding bulls and 252 breeding cows.[5]
Agerolese cows are brown, and bulls almost black; both have a pale dorsal stripe. The tip of the muzzle is whitish, the horns are of medium size.[3][4]: 7 [2]
Height at the withersis130–135 cm for males, 120–123 cm for females; weight is 600–650 kg for bulls, 380–450 kg for cows.[2]: 7
^ abcdefghDaniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN9788850652594. p. 6–8.
^ abBreed description: Agerose[sic]. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 1 March 2003. Archived 6 November 2008.
^Breed data sheet: Agerolese/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2013.
These are the cattle breeds considered in Italy to be wholly or partly of Italian origin. Inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively Italian.