Saltasassi

The Saltasassi is a breed of upland sheep from the provinces of Verbano Cusio Ossola and Novara in the northern part of Piemonte, in north-west Italy. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.

The population in 1983 was estimated at 2500. In 2013 the total number for the breed was not recorded; in 2012 it was 37. A study conducted by the region of Piemonte in 2000 found the Saltasassi to be virtually extinct.