The ‘Abbacchio Romano’ PGI is exclusively restricted to lambs born, raised and slaughtered in the zone indicated at 4. On release for consumption the meat has the following characteristics:

colour light pink with white fat cover; texture fine texture; consistency solid, lightly marbled with fat.

Release for consumption can be of the whole carcase or in the following other cuts: whole; half-carcase (obtained by sagittal sectioning); spalla (shoulder); leg; chops; head and pluck (heart, lungs and liver).

Carcases must display the following features on slaughter: cold weight, without skin, with head and pluck: 8 kg maximum; colour of flesh: light pink (particular emphasis is put on the internal muscles of the abdominal wall); consistency of muscular masses: solid (absence of serosity); colour of fat: white; consistency of fat: solid (with particular emphasis on the fat mass above the point of attachment of the tail, at 18–20 °C ambient temperature); fat cover: moderate over the external surface of the carcase but not excessive over the kidneys.

This is the meat and parts of male and female lambs of the most widespread genetic types to be found in the delimited area, i.e. the Sarda, Comisana, Sopravvissana, Massese and Merinizzata Italiana breeds and crosses. The lambs are slaughtered at between 28 and 40 days old, up to 8 kg dead weight. Furthermore, the animals intended for the production of the PGI ‘Abbacchio Romano’ must be identified within 20 days of birth by a tag or button affixed to the left ear, the front of which shows the identification code of the holding in letters and figures and the back the lamb’s serial number.

The lambs must be fed with their mothers’ milk (natural suckling). Supplementary grazing on natural foods and wild plants is permitted.

The mother ewes graze on the natural and sown pasture and meadow land typical of the production zone (point 4). Dried fodder and concentrates are also permitted, but synthetic substances and genetically modified organisms are not.

The lambs must be born, raised and slaughtered in the Region of Lazio.

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The product must be released for consumption bearing the specific logo in order to identify it and guarantee its origin.

Marking must be carried out at the abattoir. The meat is displayed for the sale in the cuts described in point 3.2.

In addition to the Community graphic symbol and indications and the information required by law, the packaging must carry on the label the following indications in clear and legible print:

the name ‘Abbacchio Romano’ must appear in clear indelible letters that are significantly larger than and markedly different from all other writing. It must be followed by ‘Indicazione Geografica Protetta’ and/or ‘IGP’, the logo must be impressed on the carcase surface so that it lies on the outward side of the cuts, the logo takes the form of a square made up of three coloured lines, green, white and red, interrupted above by a wavy red line linked to a red oval within the square containing a stylised lamb’s head. The square is interrupted below by the red capital letters ‘IGP’. Within the lower part of the square are the words ‘Abbachio’ in yellow capitals and ‘Romano’ in red capitals.

The name ‘Abbacchio Romano’ must be in Italian.

The soil and climate characteristics of the entire Region of Lazio provide optimum conditions for rearing sheep without causing stress to the animals. The region has various types of relief, such as limestone mountains, volcanic mountains, hills and alluvial plains, an annual average temperature of 13 °C – 16 °C and annual rainfall of at least 650 mm along the coastal strip, 1 000-1 500 mm on the inland plains and up to 1 800-2 000 mm on the Terminillo and in the Simbruini mountain range.

The lambs are reared in the free-range and semi-free range and are fed with their mothers’ milk. The mother ewes graze on the natural and sown pasture and meadow land typical of the production zone (point 4). The lambs and ewes are not subjected to forced feeding, environmental stress or hormonal treatment designed to boost production; traditional mountain grazing in the summer is permitted.

The meat is distinguished by its light pink colour and white fat cover; fine texture; solid consistency, lightly marbled with fat. These characteristics have made ‘Abbacchio Romano’ so well known in the regional gastronomy that it plays a fundamental role in the cooking of Rome and the Region of Lazio and has spawned about a hundred different dishes.

The ‘Abbacchio Romano’ has had, since time immemorial, a strong link with the region’s countryside, which is proven not only by the importance of sheep raising for the economy and traditions of the Region of Lazio as a whole but also and above all by its long-standing reputation with consumers. The natural and sown pasture land confers distinctive qualities on the milk of the mother ewes that the lambs feed on, the synergy being exceptionally favourable for both the quality and also the uniformity of the characteristics of the meat. The PGI product has such a considerable impact on the regional gastronomy and plays such a fundamental role in the cooking of Rome and the Region of Lazio that it is the basis of approximately a hundred different dishes. At social level, the link between the product and the geographical area is proven by the numerous rural festivals, feasts and shows in the Region of Lazio that are centred on the ‘Abbacchio Romano’. It is worth noting that the Roman word ‘abbacchio’ is used uniformly in the Region of Lazio. As a matter of fact, according to the Chiappino Dictionary of Roman dialect, the term ‘abbacchio’ refers to a suckling lamb or a lamb that has recently stopped suckling and ‘agnello’ a lamb of almost one year of age that has been shorn twice already. In Florence both are called ‘agnello’ (lamb). Roman terms such as ‘sbacchiattura’ and ‘abbacchiatura’ (slaughter of such animals) are also used for a number of operations carried out on the ‘abbacchio’.