Italia 2000

On September 28 Shauna Shiftlet, myself and my very patient wife Liz made the pilgrimage to Italy be a part of a very special event. The AICC Raduno 2000. Upon our arrival in Italy we immediately made our way to the ENCI office in Milan where we met with ENCI General Director Guisepe Gianni. MR Gianni and I had what I consider to be a very productive meeting, many topics where discussed including breed ban legislation, the AKC’s relationship with the ICCF, our registry, the history and origins of the Cane Corso in America, the ICCF Standard, the ICCF’s progressive approach to bettering the breed (recommended breeders list, breed rescue, standard changes, our concerted effort to educate the public about the Cane Corso) the ICCF’s size and influence in America, and our By-laws. MR Gianni did asked me a couple of questions for which I had no answers: Why have we never gathered up a study group of Cane Corso’s and done a survey on the health problems of the breed? Why do we not have any type of temperament requirements for breeding or at least Championships? I believe we need to in the very near future take steps to rectify the situation regarding both topics. MR. Gianni was nice enough to give me two books Lezioni di cinognostica, by DR. Ignazio Barbieri, and Le Razze Italiane by ENCI as well as assorted souvenirs from the recent World Show in Milan. Our meeting concluded by MR. Gianni thanking us for coming to meet with him and how impressed he was with our dedication and love for a native Italian breed.

After our meeting with ENCI we visited Renzo Carosio’s Val Derro Kennel in Sassello, home of the old Gladiator "Boris" who at 8 years old still gets around like a spry young male. He is the most balanced Cane Corso in both mind and body that I have ever encountered. There is no wonder he was chosen to be the model of the Cane Corso breed in the presentation to the FCI. He is truly a treasure of the Cane Corso world.

The next morning we set out to visit three kennels the first of which was Parco Del Po. Most of the dogs in this kennel were Formentino color, which is very rare in the United States. Soon after arriving at Christian and Happy’s kennel it became apparent just how welcome we where by the Cane Corso passionates in Italy. Everywhere we went we were treated as long lost family from America.

After leaving Parco Del Po we ventured to Pisa where we were to visit two Kennels the first of which was Heredom, owned by Wisniewska Elisabetta. A young male from Heredom named "Winny" after Winny the Pooh took second place at the AICC Raduno

After Heredom we took the trip to Achibo Kennel owned by Gagrriele Bonaguidi. MR Bonaguidi lives on top of a very large mountain and the roads leading to his house are incredible. You can get an idea from the picture below. When we visited Achibo it was already dark and raining so the pictures did not come out as good as we would have liked.

After leaving Achibo we became what Renzo Carosio referred to as "tourist by night" we visited the leaning tower of Pisa. Unfortunately it was raining so hard that we could not get any pictures. We then traveled to the show site, a beautiful farm Az. Agricola Poggio di mezzo PI where we spent the night and prepared for the next days festivities. The show was truly impressive to see so many beautiful specimens in the same place. The feeling is reminiscent of our National Specialty’s. The final class had about 25 prime males. Most where great physical specimens, heavy bone, substantial muscularity, structurally sound a truly impressive group. The winning male was a robust character named Ciro owned and bred by Vincenzo Consiglio. The winning female was Lizzy owned by Marco Covagnala and bred by Val Derro. Judge Acro Nigi certainly had his work cut out for him there were many fine animals there, in the end the consensus opinion was that he made the right decision.

 

After the show a T.A.N. test was administered. T.A.N. stands for Natural Aptitude Test. This test is designed to measure the dog’s natural herding ability’s. First the dogs are let loose and sent towards a flock of sheep which are in an enclosed area (fencing) the dogs are graded on their interest and reactions to the sheep and there movements. Then the dogs are brought into the fenced area and put on a flexi leash for the sheep’s protection, and graded accordingly. All of the dogs that participated passed this test. It is my understanding that this is the first time this sort of test has been given to Cane Corsos.

The following day we made our way to Bologna to visit Degli Elmi Kennels owned by Gian Carlo Ruggieri and Patrizia Colosimo. Elmi kennel also breeds very fine Bolognese and Cane da pastore Maremmano Abruzzese. GianCarlo came to Washington DC for the ICCF Specialty this past June. I had not seen him since, and it was nice to get together with him and meet his lovely family.

After Elmi Kennel we proceeded to Rome where we were again tourist by night visiting the ruins of the Coliseum. We had the good fortune of meeting AICC board member MR Alberto Cermonesi and his wife Letizia who were our tour guides for the evening. MR Cermonesi was nice enough to give Shauna and I each a picture of a Roman Centurion holding two Cane Corso’s (the one on the back of the shirt in the show section). The next day we set out to the ruins of Montopoli di Sabina. These are the ruins written about in MR Carosio’s article "Looking for the Origins" that deals with the destruction of the castle of Triburco. You can see from the picture below the perspective of the do.

The next leg of our journey may have been the most interesting of the whole week. We traveled to Southern Italy to visit with MR Flavio Bruno in S. Croce di Magliano. MR Bruno along with Paolo Breber where among the first men involved with the recovery process of this breed. Through the years there contributions have been minimized in various books and websites, but make no mistake they were in on the ground floor. MR Bruno has a wealth of knowledge, he showed us rarely before seen pictures, books, paintings, artifacts, Cane Corso sculptures and ceramics.

After our time with MR Bruno we set out for Manfredonia to Umberto Leone’s kennel. MR Leone’s family has been involved with the Cane Corso as long as anyone can remember he has some of the oldest bloodlines today.

After leaving MR Leone we traveled back to Rome to visit Normanni Kennel owned by MR Paolo Cuius. We spent a good few hours at MR Cuius home talking Cane Corso’s and looking at pictures.

The visit to Normanni kennel concluded our whirlwind tour of Italy. The trip as a whole was very positive. We did however see things that where very upsetting such as dogs with inappropriate color patterns, health and temperament problems, varying types (Boxer, Mastino, Bullmastiff defilement) I chose not to highlight these problems in this article because it would accomplish nothing but fuel the fires of divisiveness. I believe the problems facing this breed should not be viewed geographically but as breed wide problems. I had the extreme pleasure of meeting CCCN President Eric De Vries and his wife Jose while in Italy, I know they are committed to bettering our breed and working hand in hand with us to accomplish this end. A great friend and breed passionate wrote me last night and said "The most important page of the history of this breed is being written at this moment" and I agree with him.

I must at this time thank Renzo Carosio and his wife Elana for the extreme hospitality and patience they showed us during what proved to be a very trying week. We drove over 2000 kilometer last week in our search for the Cane Corso. Renzo and Elana were our drivers, interpreters, tutors, and most of all our friends thought every kilometer. Thank you for the most extensive learning experience any American ever received on the Cane Corso.