SummaryThe article analyses the potential cultural value of local livestock breeds with the aim of identifying useful elements to both conserve and attribute value to them. Local breeds can be considered cultural properties in relation to their role as historical witnesses as they often play a central part in the agriculture tenures and in the social life of rural populations. Local breeds can also be likened to cultural properties because they contribute to the preservation of ancient local traditions. To analyse the historical value of a local breed, a methodology is proposed which is based on a set of parameters including antiquity, role in the agricultural system, farming techniques, role in landscape, gastronomy, folklore and handicrafts and presence in forms of higher artistic expression. To assess the role of the breed as a custodian of local traditions, additional parameters are proposed to evaluate its contribution in maintaining traditional landscape, gastronomy, folklore and handicrafts. The proposed methodology is applied to a set of nine local cattle breeds, covering a wide spectrum of farming settings. The analysis shows that consistent differences can be observed in the cultural values of local breeds, both as historical witness and as custodian, today, of local traditions.