It were probably the Phoenecians who spread this type of dog in the Mediterranean basin, together with other breeds which were the forerunners of other italian breeds like the Cirneco of Etna and of all the Iberian Podenghi.
In his "De Re Rustica", Columella defines this dog as an excellent guardian of house and property, anticipating its current use by almost 2000 years. Although the Mastiff was used in Roman times as a weapon of war, and in combat against wild animals in the circus, it was later to be found in the courts of the Renaissance in central and northern Italy as a hunter of large game (deer and wild boar). They were huge, savage dogs, large enough to keep away lions. They could fiercely fight intruders, be they human or animal.
Precisely because of this natural adeptness as a guard dog, the Roman patrician class used the Mastiff to safeguard their villas, which were numerous in the region of Campania at one time. After the fall of the Roman Empire the dogs remained, forming a close link both with the land and the people who lived on the slopes of the Vesuvius.