Fattoria Valle Magica
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  • Home
  • Home
  • The Farm
    • Opening Times
    • Our Animals
    • Our Crops
  • La Fattoria
    • Orari
    • Nostri Animali
    • I nostri raccolti
  • Visit/Book
    • Farm Visit
    • Donkey Picnic
  • Visita/Prenota
    • Visita in Fattoria
    • Picnic con l'asino
  • Events
    • 🌈☘️ IRISH FESTIVAL ☘️🇮🇪
    • 🥚 EASTER 🐣
    • 🎲 Playtime at the Farm🎯
    • Festa Latina 💃 🌮.🇻🇪
    • FERRAGOSTO!
    • 🎃🎃🎃Pumpkin Patch!
    • HALLOWEEN 🎃👻💀🕸️
    • 🎅🏼 Night of santa Claus 🎅🏼
  • Eventi
    • 🌈☘️FESTA IRLANDESE ☘️🇮🇪
    • 🥚 PASQUA🐣
    • 🎲 Playtime alla Fattoria🎯
    • Festa Latina 🇻🇪 💃 🌮.
    • FERRAGOSTO!!
    • 🎃🎃🎃 Pumpkin Patch (Campo di Zucche!)
    • HALLOWEEN 🎃👻💀🕸️
    • 🎅🏼 La Notte di of santa Claus 🎅🏼
  • Products
    • Our Salumi >
      • Nero D'Abruzzo
      • The Cured Meats
  • Prodotti
    • I Nostri Salumi >
      • Nero D'Abruzzo
      • I Salumi
  • Shop
  • Didattica
  • La Nostra Storia
  • Our Story
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    • FAQ
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History Of Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs

Black pigs are an ancient and well documented occurrence in Italy dating back at least 2000 years. Considered to have been brought back to Italy by the Romans from their conquests in Asia, the black pig became a common sight in oak woodlands and a mainstay animal of the average family who reared them for personal use.

It is not, therefore, surprising that the black pig is known not only for its part in folklore but also as the ancestor of all Italian pig breeds, whether black, spotted or stripped. 

Over the years, distinct and separate bloodlines have been established with these differing physical traits. The Abruzzo region and large parts of the south of the peninsular were therefore, with time, populated by dark or slate coloured animals with bristly hairs, large ears covering their eyes who rooted undisturbed in the florid Italian countryside.

​Of the few pure black pig breeds remaining, each has been identified to have diverse and unique DNA with the Nero D'Abruzzo having been recognised through DNA testing as a unique and autochthonous breed separate from the breeds of Calabria and Sardinia.
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Sadly, as with so many of our traditional foods and ways of life across Europe, the Nero D'Abruzzo was nearly lost to us all due to the changing trends in the 60s and 70s.

During this time both industrial breeding techniques becoming the basis for farming and government propaganda brainwashed the public into believing that fat was the dietary pariah for all health issues meaning people moved to the flavourless, hybrid 'white' pigs commonly used today.

Compounding the decline in the use of this classic, adapted and rustic breed was the growing commercialism which lost sight of quality and flavour in the endless search for faster - cheaper - more. 

A commercialistic goal, that while achieved to a greater extent, created products with less flavour, higher cholesterol, a higher carbon-footprint and standard treatment for the pigs that are reared in this intensive industry that any ethical human being would struggle to accept.

However, thanks to the efforts of a few individuals who continued the traditional, ethical and ecologically focused way of life and who continued to breed these amazing pigs the Nero D'Abruzzo has evaded the expectation of becoming extinct.
Thanks to these people we have been able to embrace and further this lost way of breeding and rearing this ancient breed of pig and share with you the value of not only its flavour but also the health qualities of its meat, appreciated by foodies across Italy and beyond.

Our Pigs

Our pigs live outdoors all year round and thrive in their fenced area. They eat a natural diet of grains and vegetables and we enhance this with any nuts and acorns we can gather for them, 
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Are pigs are allowed to mature slowly and live a minimum of 18 months before going to slaughter (commercial pigs live approximately 5 months)

Not all pigs live as ours do....

Sadly most pork that you eat is not reared as our pigs are. They come from intensive farms. We commonly think of pork as a white meat but this is a mistaken  understanding..... pork meat is red! If you think of wild boar (a pig) the meat is red...so what is the difference? The difference comes from the fact that the intensively reared pigs never move. They are kept in cramped confined spaces and do not use their muscles to move. That way they grow more quickly and are ready for slaughter faster.  
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​Sadly pigs are a highly intelligent animal and this type of rearing in our opinion is cruel and should not be supported. We often encourage people to eat less meat but to spend  the same budget to source ethically reared animals.
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Worse yet is how breeding sows are treated in industrial farms. Pigs are large animals and can be clumsy. It is not uncommon for a sow to accidentally squash some of her piglets. To avoid this industrial farms use farrowing cages. A cruel system of caging the female so that she can not move and the piglets can drink from her at will.

very different from our approach to have the piglets born outside with space for both them and their mother to move!

Interesting Black Pig Facts

  • Nero D'Abruzzo are a large breed, with mature boars weighing up to 300kg  and sows weighing up to 250kg.
  • They have a distinctive black coat that can be long, curly, and lustrous.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo have long, floppy ears that cover their eyes and a slightly dished face.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo are known for their friendly and docile personalities.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs are well-suited to outdoor, pasture-based systems and are known for their hardiness and adaptability to different environments.
  • They are also resistant to many common pig diseases and parasites, making them a low-maintenance breed.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs are excellent foragers and are known for their ability to find food in the wild.
  • They have a slow growth rate, which contributes to the exceptional meat quality for which they are known.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs are known for their exceptional meat quality
  • Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs also produce high-quality lard, with superior flavour and texture.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs are considered a rare breed with only 5 breeders of scale in Abruzzo
  • Their rooting behaviour can help to break up hard soils, making it easier for other crops to grow.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs are social animals and thrive in groups.
  • They are known for their vocalisations, including grunts, squeals, and snorts.
  • Nero D'Abruzzo Pigs can live up to 10 years.

'Discover Nature's Magic'

Fattoria Valle Magica snc.. Località Ponte Amaro, Carapelle Calvisio, L'Aquila 67020. Italy
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