Meat
Casertana
B tier
Casertana is an ancient black or dark-skinned pig of Campania, historically centred on the province of Caserta north of Naples. Often nearly hairless with wrinkled skin and a compact, muscular frame, it is closely related to other southern Italian black breeds and is one of the six autochthonous pig breeds recognised by Italy’s agriculture ministry. Meat is prized for intensity of flavour, firm fat, and suitability to both fresh Campanian cooking and cured products. Traditional outdoor and small-farm systems yield pork for sausages, salumi, and slow-cooked dishes of the Naples hinterland, with conservation herds now supplying niche markets after near disappearance in the late twentieth century.
Also known as: Casertana, Nero Casertano
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Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Dark, often sparsely haired pigs of the Caserta countryside were staples of Campanian smallholder husbandry.
Casertana type was well established as a regional meat pig linked to the Bourbon-era agrarian landscape of Campania.
Related southern black pigs including Pugliese lines shared ancestry with Casertana across southern Italy.
Imported commercial breeds drove Casertana to the brink of extinction as intensive production expanded.
ANAS conservation programmes formally protected Casertana as an official Italian autochthonous breed.
Recovery herds and culinary interest in Campanian heritage pork restored limited commercial availability.