Millefiori di Lonigo

Geographic origin: Veneto (Lonigo, Vicenza)

Geographic distribution: Veneto

Estimated total population size: 755 (Castillo et al., 2021)

Extinction risk status (FAO, 1998): Threatened conserved

Historical origin of the breed

Selected by the Itinerant School of Agriculture of Lonigo (established with legal decree in 1926), the Millefiori di Lonigo breed is a local genetic resource with Mille Fleur (“a thousand flowers”) plumage, always reared in the province of Vicenza and in the Veneto region. This genetic resource was defined during the 1920s, as it was previously considered as a type of the Italiana locale comune (Common local Italian) chicken breed. The history of the Millefiori di Lonigo is linked to the history of Italian poultry, and it dates back to the time of ancient Rome.
The first group of Millefiori di Lonigo chickens arrived to La Decima, a farm managed by the Administration of Vicenza province, in 2007, recovering chickens from the Liguria and Emilia Romagna regions. After a first period of acclimatisation and breeding, La Decima started spreading chicks among several farms of the territory. These farms have thus become the “keeper farms” of the breed, by spreading on their turn the products of their breeding. The Millefiori di Lonigo is also reared by amateur farmers. For this reason, the Millefiori di Lonigo chickens are reared also in other Italian regions.

Pictures from the archives of Prof. Gabriele Baldan and Prof. Massimo De Marchi.