The ancestral rite of transhumance

The origins of the monticellana white goat have been transmitted through oral narratives. According to the most popular version, between 1830/1840, brothers of the Minchella family left their territory of origin (Villa Latina, in Ciociaria) in search of new grazing areas. According to Domenico Minchella (90 years old), the oldest descendant of this lineage, most of the territory of Villa Latina was located on the lowlands and, for this reason, pastoralists had to make long trips to reach the upland summer pastures. Domenico claims that, because of these movements, pastoralists were forced to spend longer periods away from their families.   

Indeed, this was the major reason why members of the Minchella family decided, in the end, to move in search of new territories where the distance between winter pastures (lowlands) and summer pastures (uplands) was relatively short. The story narrates that two or three brothers, with their respective families, left Villa Latina on foot and arrived at Pontecorvo bridge (after covering a distance of about 50 km on foot approximately); here they decided to take two different routes. One group headed towards the Aurunci Mountains reaching the village of Maranola (currently in the municipality of Formia) while the other headed towards Monte San Biagio, in the Ausoni mountains. These two family groups gave rise to the main Minchella lineages still found in these areas. 

Mario Brancaleone, a former ARSIAL employee, claims that a certain Antonio Minchella, born in Villa Latina in 1817, was the progenitor of this lineage of pastoralists and that, in the middle of 1800, he moved to Monte San Biagio (formerly called Monticelli) with his flock of about seven hundred goats. It is exactly around this period that the white goat phenotype seems to have captured the interest of those pastoralists already present in the area.  This, in turn, over the years has led to a more marked selection of this particular breed.