The Cane Corso, also referred to asthe Italian Mastiff, is a large dog breed that originated in Italy. Like other mastiff breeds, Cani Corsi can trace their ancestry back to the
molossus-type Greek guard dogs and the dogsthe Romans used in warfare.
When Roman legions brought mollosers back to Italy from the Greek islands, they bred them with native Italian dog breeds. The Italian Mastiff and the Neapolitan Mastiff
are descendants of these dogs. Once they were no longer Roman war dogs at the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire during the fifth century, Cani Corsi were
commonly used as guard dogs, livestock guardian dogs and drivers, and to hunt big game, usually wild boar.
They became popularfarm dogs. But, invasion, war, and the Industrial Revolution made them less popular. The breed almost went extinct in the 20th century. Thanksto
the efforts ofsome Italian breedersin the 1970s, the breed held on, wasrevived, and started showing in European dog shows during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The first Cane Corso import came to the United Statesin 1988. Before this point, they were a rare breed and were relatively unknown outside of Southern Italy. The AKC
recognized the Cane Corso in 2010 as part of the Working Group. Although they may not be one of the first breeds that come to mind when you think of the most popular
dog breeds , they are becoming more popular and even broke into the AKC’stop 10 in 2023!