The little Neapolitan shepherd

In a painting by Filippo Palizzi dated 1842, a small flock of goats is depicted.  In the foreground, on the left, stands a brown goat with hanging ears, curved circular backward horns, surrounded by other goats with divergent flat horns; all specimens have erected ears and, amongst them, stands out a white goat with yellow shades. Presumably, the painting depicts a landscape of Campania (the region bordering southern Lazio). Filippo Palizzi, born in Abruzzo, was a member of the «Neapolitan School» and one of the greatest Italian painters of the second half of the 19th century, as well one of the most famous representatives of ‘realism’ in painting. Here, the presence of a goat with hanging ears and curved backwards horns seems to confirm the hypothesis according to which the lowlands of Campania were the main centre of diffusion of goats having these particular characteristics. According to Carusi (2019), these types of goats were the direct outcome of crossbreeding with animals imported by boat from Africa and/or Malta for the purpose of supplying milk to ship crews, or for genetically improving existing local populations.