"2. Where and why was the breed first developed?"
Let's talk about the modern reconstruction of the breed. If we want to talk about the reconstruction of the NEO we need to talk about one of the most important names for the Mastinari: Piero Scanziani. Scanziani means Mastino Napoletano (or Molosso Romano, as he wanted to name the breed) and Mastino Napoletano means Piero Scanziani. All people that knows a little about the NEO, knows that the breed is the result of a recue that began in the late 30s and early 40s (and sadly its destruction perhaps began around mid 80s but this is not the matter of this post). This reconstruction is due to the love and real commitment of a few men and fans of the “Molossus”. One of the most important names among them is Piero Scanziani a Switzerland (not Italian) born in 1908 (and died in 2003) whose childhood and adolescence was spent in Lausanne, Como and Milan. He was a prolific writer (twice nominated for the Nobel Prize) and journalist (like his father) whose residence was set in Rome to work there as a correspondent for a news agency.
He had founded his kennel under the name of “Allevamento di Villanova”1 in 1930 but he was not engaged with Mastini at that time. As we will see in a pic, he also run a dog magazine named “Cani”.2
Here you will see a couple of advertisement of Allevamento di Villanova:
This one appeared in 1951:
And this other in 1952:
For a long time Scanziani had the idea of discovering the old Roman Molossus and even if at the beginning he spent his time with other breeds (Boxer, French and English Bulldogs, Dogue de Bordeaux) in his trips he had “the Molossus” in mind. In fact, he has written: “When in the 30s of century XX I bred French Bulldog, English Bulldog and Dogue de Bordeaux, when I traveled hundreds of kilometers to visit some strange individual of English Mastiff or Bull Mastiff actually unconsciously I sought the molossus. I sought the molossus while studying training about defense dogs and utility dogs, when comparing the reactions of the Rottweiler with those of the Airdale; I sought the molossus even when I marveled before the colors of the blue Alano and the silver Weimaraner. I sought the molossus but I didn’t know it.”.
Then Scanzani, with elegance and concerned that his words may sound like a complaint (about something that he didn’t want to complaint for having done out because of pure dog passion) explains to us in this particular way the sacrifice he made: “I could write a book of adventures titled ‘Toward the discovery of the molossus’; I would tell there my expeditions to unknown constraints mysterious districts of Naples, I would also tell adventurous trips on the railroad that surrounded the Vesuvius toward villages distrustful and hostile, I would tell there absurd conversations with herdsmen, watchmen, butchers, maniacs and affected. Difficult conversations because of the difference of the language, my Italian incompressible for them, their Neapolitan incompressible to me.”.
But he suddenly knew that he was in front of what he thought it was the real molossus in October 12, 1946 at Castel dell’Ovo in Naples, in the first dog exhibition after WW II in that region. Scanziani used to go to dog exhibitions to take Arno von Turnellen,3 a Boxer he had adopted in Berna while living in that city during the WW II. The appearance of the molossus at that exhibition was possible thanks to another conspicuous old mastinaro, the veterinarian Ruggero Soldati (who was the responsible for drafting the first standard of the breed which was finally approved in 1949 with the direction of Scanziani and taking Guaglione I as a model). Soldati was another pioneer passionate about the breed, and he called several of these molosos that he had met through the performance of his veterinary profession, as he stated that they (the molossos) were widespread in the provinces of Naples, Salerno, Avellino and Caserta. There were 8 Roman Molossus there and not 6, as some says. They were Bufariello, Zingarella, Giosì, Jim (grey), Leone, Catarì (blak), Moschella (brindle) and Guaglione I (blue). They were in not good shape and with no phenotypical uniformity. But he saw Guaglione I and he got inloved. He thought (my guess): “this is the old Roman Molossus I have dreamt with all my life”.
The show of the molossus (called Cane e’ presa, Cani da Presa, Mastini Napoletani, Cani Corsi) -that were out of contest- was a disaster because of the poor shape of the individuals but over all because of the surprise of the judges and the lack of knowledge and criteria to judge them; it doesn’t even exist a standard to base the judgment upon. About that show Scanziani remembers that “ … those judges came to Naples from the north, led by the great Solaro, and mock about those eight dogs. They considered them without breed, one tall and one small (they said), this one Alano-type and that one Bordeaux-type, non-uniform even in color, similar only in lymphatism, in rickets, in bastard, dogs chained to the barn and even inept to walk, beasts (they said) that only the Neapolitan inventive could join under the label of mastiffs. In vain Soldati showed his Guaglione and spoke about the old molossus, vainly he tried to explain that these were not common dogs, but representatives of an authentic and ancient lineage, noble even though deteriorated. The most authoritative decreed: ‘lack the breed and therefore lack the dog’.". The phrase appears to prohibit any rebirth.". Although such a statement, that was the standpoint to the rescue of the breed. And as Antonio Crepaldi states, the Neapolitan Mastiff has elevated Ruggiero Soldati and Piero Scanziani as creators of the breed, both in the mind and in the heart of every mastinaro that deserves to be considered as such, while condemned to forgetfulness all those false experts unable to see the revival of an ancient breed.
Guaglione in Neapolitan means “ragazzone” something like “big boy”. According to Scanzani, at the time they encountered each other at such exhibition, with the centuries of history backed him, Guaglione I looked at Scanziani imperturbable, his eyes not hostiles but not gentiles, glance that does not ask nor give anything, just contemplate. Then he looked at Arno (the Boxer that Scanziani took to the show) as if it were evoking the announcement “molossus ready to attack without barking”. Guaglione I was born in 1944 (perhaps in March) but nobody, including Scanziani himself, knows who his parents were. Scanzani has declared that after the success of this dog he received a lot of communications with names of dogs which owners claimed they were the parents just to try to sell them to Scanziani.
Scanziani finally bought Guaglione I from Carmine Puolo (Carmeniello) in 1949 after a hard negotiation; someone says he paid 30,000 Italian Liras but that is a mistake because the one who paid that amount was Carmine Puolo when he bought Guaglione I to his previous owner. I don’t know if Carmeniello really paid that amount to the previous owner or if it was a bargaining trick used to negotiate with Scanzani, but I am pretty sure that Scanzani paid more than that to buy the dog. The same day Scanziani purchased Pacchiana and paid the double of the amount he had already paid for Guaglione, and then close to midnight he went back to Rome by train. He then bought Siento in a very poor condition, he rented a space at the Roman Zoo and he began his adventure. Guaglione I was the first Mastino registered in the Book of Origins under the number 73,829 and he was the first Italian Champion (in 1949) in the same year in which the first standard of the breed was approved.
He then mated Guaglione I with Pachiana and had a litter of eight pups but only one survived, a female named Spes (which means “hope” in Latin). To fix the characteristics he wanted for the breed in 1951 he mated Spes (the daughter) with Guaglione I (the father) and as a result he had a litter of six males and six females, including among them Ursus di Villanova (acquired by Pascuale Raimondi), who also became champion and was considered the most wonderful Mastino of those days; and Uno di Villanova (acquired by Troili, and according to some in co-ownership with Cicchini), proclaimed champion in 1955.
Beyond the titles and the show results, the important thing is that those dogs were the foundation for recovering the breed. In fact, with one dog of di Villanova it began his own adventure with the breed that thin but tall soldier from Toscana region who eventually would became the greatest breeder of the Mastino Napoletano ever, his name Mario Querci; and those dogs were Toto Guaglione and Fiamma (second and third champions –in 1952 and 1953- of the breed respectively, and in the case of Fiamma,4 the first female champion of the breed). No one in this breed has won so many titles, prizes, cups and whatever; and more important no other breeder made so many people national, international and world champion with his dogs (for example, there was a dog that was world CH in 1990 and 1991, International CH of Italy and Europe and had 35 best in shows; his serious guardian skills were proven several times. His name was Caligula di Ponzano, was bred by Mario Querci but his owner and winner of all that stuff was Antonio Pegoli). Precisely under the name "di Ponzano" Mario Querci dedicated to this breed almost 40 years from early 50s to his dead in 1990. Now there is one of the most important specialized yearly exhibition in Italy of Mastini with the name of Mario Querci.
As Crepaldi says, the fortune wanted that the "star" of canine passion has guided Scanziani to Naples to find Guaglione I who has been the messiah for the Neapolitan Mastiff.
Here a pic of “Cani” edition in 1949 showing Guaglione I (Guaglione Primo means Guaglione I):
Here some pics of Guaglione I:
A pic of Pacchiana:
A pic of Siento:
A pic of Spes:
