The Nero Siciliano pig (Sicilian black (SB) pig) is an autochthonous Italian breed from Sicily [
1], a Mediterranean island in southern Italy. Historical traces, such as fossil remains and written texts, reveal its presence since the Greek and Carthaginian periods (seventh–sixth century BC). According to Chicoli (1870) [
2], even the Greek poet Omero in his stories mentioned the existence of a black pig that was highly rustic, almost wild, and completely free in the woods. The breeding of black pigs in Sicily was known in Rome as early as the second century BC. In the ninth century BC, pig farming experienced a temporary reduction during the Arab colonization in Sicily for religious reasons. However, this breeding was recovered with the Norman conquest [
2]. The origin of the SB pig is controversial. The well-defined characteristics suggest that this breed descends from various breeds and pig populations deriving from the Neapolitan black-haired breed [
3]. The SB breed is considered as an expression of ethnic–genetic heterogeneity, showing an evident polymorphism influenced by the natural living environment, the rearing systems, and the type of targeted production system. According to Pino [
3], the breed variants identified in general terms are to be referred to as Casertana (Pelatella), Cinta Senese, and Parmigiana for Italians, as the Large Black, Large White, and Berkshire for the English, and as Chester White and Poland China for Americans. Among the mentioned breeds, the Casertana is the most ancient, even though, for commercial reasons and low productivity, its breeding registered an attenuation [
3]. Further authors have conducted studies on the above-mentioned breeds. Besides the Large Black and Large White reproducers, the Sicilian Livestock Research Institute imported subjects of the Casertana breed characterized by low fertility and affinity with the SB pig [
4]. For example, Marchi [
5] studied the influence of the Neapolitan breed and Cassella [
6] on Calascibetta pigs bred in the province of Enna. Cassella [
6] suggested that SB pigs, such as the North African one, could have origins from the Neapolitan breed. The Large Black has also been present in Sicily, directly introduced into the island from England. This pig is known to be a good grazer, characterized by very large, long, and drooping ears, which could limit its visibility in open spaces, thus conditioning the possibility of running openly in the pastures [
4]. The Large White breed was introduced in Italy by Zanelli and later in Sicily by Tucci [
6]. This breed was used alone or crossed with other breeds even if it showed weak performances in an extensive condition because of the absence of rusticity [
6]. The SB breed is generally considered an “Indigenous Sicilian” population, which for some authors derives from an unique autochthonous line [
6,
7], for others from individuals of the “Neapolitan” breed [
8], and for others from the “Iberian type of Sanson” [
2,
9,
10]. According to Chicoli (1870) [
2], the Iberian type of Sanson was based on some typical differential characteristics of the skeleton (mainly the number of dorsal and lumbar vertebrae), defining a brachycephalic morphological type (Asian pig) and a dolichocephalic type (pigs from southern Europe), the latter of which describes SB pigs. Chicoli described various pig breeds in Sicily that lead to the “Neapolitan” breed with a characteristic “ordinary” black coat. These breeds have been listed as follows: (i) Saint Agata di Militello; (ii) Castelbuono; (iii) Trapani; (iv) Patornese; (v) and Cesarotana. According to Romolotti [
11], the SB pig was the only one with well-defined characteristics. This could be in line with what was reported by Marchi and Pucci [
12] that the Mediterranean areas would be influenced by the introduction of foreign blood, corroborating the fact that the better-defined breeds would have been observed in the island. Furthermore, breeding in the thickest woods in the wildest regions of the island could play as a barrier in countering possible genetic pollution.