[1] It is one of the seven pig breeds of foreign origin recognised by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture and forestry, and one of the four for which a genealogical herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Suini, the Italian national association of pig-breeders.
[3] Yorkshire pigs were first imported into Italy in 1873, by the director of the Istituto Tecnico Agrario of Reggio Emilia.
[1] By 1886 they were in the area of Faenza; here two local populations, the San Lazzaro and the Bastianella (named for the estates where they were raised) acquired the status of sub-types.
[1] The breed is present throughout Italy; most of the population is concentrated in the Po Valley, where heavy pigs are mostly raised.
[1] The large size, strong legs and rapid growth of the Large White made it suitable for intensive raising of the heavy pigs needed for production of prosciutto crudo – particularly Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di San Daniele – and of other traditional Italian preserved meat products.