The Donkey of Asinara - Asino dell'Asinara
Italian breeds of donkeys

Origins and attitudes

Its origins are in the isle of Asinara (Sardegna) where a colony of a hundred still live wildly.
It has a smaller size (like the Sardinian breed) with a white coat, probably because of an incomplete albinism.
It seems that by the end of the XIX century some white coated donkeys lived on the island, probably abandoned by the inhabitants that had moved to Stintino in 1885 when the island had become State Property.
Some other evidences refer that in more recent times there have appeared a few white coated examples. According to other ideas on even far-off times, the present white donkeys may have been imported straight from Egypt by the Duke of Asinara in 1800. The breed is rustic and frugal.

Morphological characters

Height to the withers (30 months): from 80 to 105 cm

The Donkey of Asinara (photo Alessio Zanon)

The Donkey of Asinara (photo Alessio Zanon)