## 1 Introduction  
Goat (_Capra hircus_, L.) has been, along with sheep (_Ovis aries_, L.), the first species to be domesticated by humankind about 11,000 years ago [1]. During contemporary history, the world goat population has been constantly increasing. In particular, starting from 1990, it has risen from about 600 million to over one billion in 2019 [2]. The world production of goat-derived products has shown a positive trend in the last three decades [2]. That trend could be attributed to a shift in food preferences in developed countries [3] and to the increase in semi-desertia areas with impossibility to raise grazer animals, rather than browser, in underdeveloped and developing countries [4]. India and China are the countries with the highest number of these animals, followed by different African and Asian smaller nations, and are, respectively, the world's largest producers of goat milk and meat [2]. However, it is likely that goat meat and, in particular, milk productions data from FAO are underestimates of real values, being that in many countries there is a traditional local production for home consumption that is not reported in the official statistics. Differences in chemical composition between cow milk and goat milk have been deeply investigated [5]. Several health benefits (scientifically proved or not) to people associated to goat milk are in likelihood to be one of the reasons for its increased consumption. In particular, it is believed that goat milk has lower allergenic properties when compared to cow milk. For that reason, it is usually used as a substitute of cow milk in children with a milk allergy [6]. However, it has been pointed out that the hypoallergenic characteristic of goat dairy products depends on the concentration of \(\alpha_{\text{s1}}\)-casein. That, in turn, depends on the wide variety of genetic polymorphisms of this casein protein [7]. In Italy, goat milk production has been constantly increasing in recent decades, achieving nearly 450,000 quintals in 2019 [8]. However, in the peninsula, it represents a lower production among the main dairy domesticated species (cow, sheep and buffalo) [8]. The diffusion of goat milk consumption, as in the dairy cattle sector, led to a flattening in the genetic characteristics of cosmopolitan goat breeds, which are mainly used for milk production [9; 10]. In Italy, the knowledge about local goat breeds is sparse and rare in scientific literature [11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18]. The few studies that have been conducted were mainly focused on the comparison of dairy products' quali-quantitative characteristics in different Mediterranean autochthonous goat breeds versus Saanen, Alpine and Maltese goats. The studies have highlighted a higher milk yield of the cosmopolitan breeds, but a lower milk nutritional quality [12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17]. Additionally, the coagulative aptitude and nutritional value of cheeses were higher in the Mediterranean breeds [13; 17; 19], and the colostrum from Gargancia goats versus Saanen or Maltese has shown interesting oligosaccharides concentrations [11; 18]. Alpine goat (Camosciata delle Alpi) is a dairy breed. It is originally from the mountainous cantons of Bern, Freiburg, Glarus and Graubunden in Switzerland. However, in recent decades, it has been exported in several other countries such as France, Italy and Germany, but it is also reared outside Europe. In Italy, it is mainly found in the Alpine regions, especially in Piedmont and Trentino-Alto Adige. The numerosity in 2020 was of 67,780 heads in the National Zootechnical Register. This breed is a medium-large size goat, originally sturdy, strong, well-adapted to the climate and mountainous geographical conditions. However, the selection for milk production has led to a weakening of its rusticity characteristics. The Verzasca (Nera di Verzasca or Verzaschese) is a double aptitude breed. It is originally from the Verzasca Valley, in the canton of Ticino in Southern Switzerland.