The book was presented to the public for the first time on the evening of Friday 6 April in Ravenna. A roundup of memories and images, retracing the path of spinone from Italy to the world, it served as a side dish for the interesting novelty of books that enrich the cultural panorama on the race in a modern key. A very elegant book by Paolo Amadori, who chose the subtlety of black and white for the images. Intelligent book, for the Italian-English bilingualism of the pages designed for a topical communication. Book of memories, experiences, friendships, observations and opinions. Book of the standard “according to Amadori”, vaguely echoing the atmosphere of the pages of the old “De le Cacce co 'lo Spinone” by Adriano Ceresoli in a personal, affective and modern technical key, considered by Amadori to be the most reliable historical author on the breed. Long personal experiences in breeding, in the ring and on the hunting ground, the great work of the specialized company (CISP - Club Italiano Spinoni) for the recovery and improvement of the breed, the roots of the spinone abroad even in different continents, all harmoniously intertwined in this delicately technical and sentimental book on this beautiful and ancient Italian breed capable of looking to the future.
A good half of older hunters are likely to have at least one spinone in their past. In particular, up to the middle of the last century, in the areas that were originally marshy and marshy, and where there were rice fields and meadows, the spinone was almost the dog of choice. Emblematic is the small Forge of the "restone" in the "The madman of the rushes". For the record, the term "restone" was then used as an affix for the breeding of spinoni ("del Restone") by Dr. Ezio Caraffini (who passed away in 2017 at the age of ninety-five), a kennel born in 1949 and kept in business for over sixty years. Despite himself, the spinone of the past was also the basis of the "classic" crossbreeding in use among contrada hunters. Those who had nothing else got upset, supported by the commandments of a peasant culture according to which crossings "were stronger". Spinone-pointer and spinone-kurzhaar were the most usual crossbreeds, some with some pretense of refinement. But the spinone has fortunately, for some time now, resumed its history. The merit must be divided between the breed club (CISP - Club Italiano Spinoni), and between those attentive and passionate breeders who have given an important boost to Italian breeding from the point of view of work combined with the type.
Romagna, the homeland and home of Paolo Amadori, has always remained sentimentally linked to this Italian dog, with the notation that today we must speak more precisely of international spinonistic Romagna. The jump dog lover and "geographic" was promoted, and then concretized, by Paolo Amadori, born in 1931, passion, experience on rings and test fields, sensitivity to details in the breeding. Calm, lean physique, passion, experience on the rings and on the test fields, sensitivity to details in breeding, Paolo Amadori, born in 1931, is a spinon breeder who for years has established themselves both at home and abroad. The love for spinone was a love at first sight, on the skin. And perhaps right from that first love comes the name of his affix, "Epithelium" (skin), which also captures a specific physical characteristic of the spinon, the epithelial tissue. A spinonistic debut that Amadori summarizes as follows: At the age of thirteen I happened to meet a strange dog, powerful, with a bristly white and honey-colored hair, and a sweet and good-natured look. It was an Italian spinone. He seemed lost, I took him home and kept him for a fortnight, then a hunter from a nearby town turned out to be the rightful owner and was happy to have him back. But since the first love is never forgotten, from the first hunting license, at the age of eighteen, I started hunting with a dog that looked like a griffon, and which turned out to be a decent auxiliary.> Then other breeds also passed from Amadori's house, an English setter bleu-belton, "Miro", Which in the 60s, gained access to a national final of the Federcaccia Championship, and also"Y", a kurzhaar who was doing well on the ground and who earned some CAC in work: I have always liked to value the subjects who proved to have qualities. Love for dogs has no breed boundaries. >
In the breeding there was also a parallel parenthesis, which makes up an all-round dog picture: <Con bull-terriers, that too is an important experience. With all the experiences you bring home something, to mature and proceed in breeding. That dog attracted me almost as much as the spinone. I got the first subject thanks to a friend, he was a type dog, and in fact I soon took him to the beauty championship. I had a lot of satisfaction with bull-terriers, about fifteen subjects arrived at the championship, and one in particular, "Excalibur", had the privilege of being the only bull-terrier born outside the United Kingdom to appear on some English publications. > But let's get back to spinoni. Today the Epithelium affix only produces subjects of this breed: Yes, the preponderant part of my dog business has developed with the spinone. In the breeding there is also my son Roberto, attentive and fussy dog lover, who actively supports me >.
Amadori's spinonistic career takes shape, when in the '80s (homonymy of fate?), There is another "Y”, In this case roan-brown spinone, which asserts itself with several CACs on display, and gets a CAC in work. At the same time Amadori does not neglect to carry out the organizational part for the breed. In fact, in March 1988 he created the CISP Emilia-Romagna Delegation. Later, in April 2000, the CISP National Council appoints Amadori "Director in charge of foreign relations". Taking advantage of the previous experience with bull-terriers, Amadori moves abroad, in particular to England and the USA, earning respect and sowing for the breed. As an expert he is called to judge the specials of breed in England in 1990 and 1991, and the specials in the USA in 1992 and 1994. Especially in England the spinone is strongly rooted, so much so that today a number of registrations higher than that in the Italian Origins Book. How do you explain the interest of the British in this non-Anglo-Saxon dog? He conquered the British for sweetness and docility. The British have a closer daily relationship with animals than we do, dogs are kept more at home than in the box. Americans have also approached, especially for work. Even in the Nordic countries of Europe, the breed has made itself known for its rusticity. Dutch, Belgian and Swedish dog lovers have come and gone to Italy to cover their females. Even in a particular country from a hunting point of view such as Russia, the spinone has made its way. It is important to underline, at the end of all this, that foreign dog lovers, without distinction of nationality, maintain contact with us and participate numerous and enthusiastically in the main international breed events that the club organizes in Italy>.
For a picture of experience abroad, what remains strongest as a memory? A day of hunting in England, with two spinons and the hunting hawks, unforgettable. The relationship of the English dresseur with dogs is absolutely particular. He does not conceive of the van crammed with dogs, he carries two or three at the most. His dogs, however, "talk" and collaborate almost on a human level. As for the United States, it is interesting to observe the scoring criterion for the tests: the still subjects first carry out a test on natural wild game, generally coliners, for a full fifteen minutes even if they make mistakes, then carry out a carry-back from the water, cold, with a fintello, finally the morphological examination is carried out only for those classified in the work. With the sum of the points the ranking is drawn up >. Instead a sentimental picture of Epithelium breeding? The same spot on the tail in the "big" chain: Full, AfterFull, Icaro, Briccone. These are only breeding anecdotes, it is clear, the technique has nothing to do with it, but it's nice to think about it>. A recipe for the future of the breed? Typicality in morphology and work together, and a lot of passion. Considering the types of terrain on which we have to move in Italy, already today there are not a few hunters who happily return to the spinone as an auxiliary >. Epithelium, a bond… on the skin! Memories, passions, experiences, opinions, all told in a book that today enriches knowledge about the breed (for anyone interested in the book, contact: [email protected]).
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