Abruzzese
The first word in our dictionary
The logical starting point is the very name of the breed.
Its full name is “Cane da pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese”.
The name literally means “dog of the shepherds of Maremma and Abruzzi regions”.
These regions are found in Italy. Maremma is in Tuscany, while Abruzzi/Abruzzo is in Lazio.
Lonely Planet says this about the region.
Abruzzo
Neither part of fashion conscious, Ferrari-producing northern Italy, nor the siesta-loving, anarchic world of the south, Abruzzo is something of an enigma. Despite its proximity to Rome and its long history of tribalism and pre-Roman civilisation, it sits well down the pecking order of Italian regions in terms of touristic allure.
Notwithstanding, this gritty mountainous domain, rocked sporadically by earthquakes, remains refreshingly unique. Herein lies a higher concentration of protected land than anywhere else in Italy, some of the last vestiges of large wild fauna on the continent, and a patchwork of individualistic towns and villages whose folkloric traditions go back as far as the Italic tribes who founded them.
Its agricultural focus and “gritty mountainous domain” are prime reasons why this protective guardian breed was developed there, and why it can be found there to this day.
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