Breed info

The Cane Corsi ancestors were the mastino dogs which lived in Tibet a thousand years ago and were used as guards in ancient monasteries. Some of these were brought to Rome where they would fight lions in the coliseums and served as "Warriors" in Alexander Macedonian's army. They bravely carried flaming buckets of oil charging against the Calvary. After the fall of the Roman Empire they were used for hunting wild boar, protecting flocks of game from wolves, watchdogs and guardians. The Cane Corso is one of two native Italian Mastiff dogs that descended from the legendary war dogs. The appearance of the Cane Corso  has changed little since that time. Now they have a little less weight, are less encumbered, but just as powerful.
During the World War I and II, the Cane Corso population decreased dramatically. Thanks to a small group of Italian enthusiast in the 70's and 80's, they started to re-establish the breed and create a breed standard. The breed was recognized by the ENCI in 1994, the FCI in 1996 and the AKC in 2010 .