A nested polymerase chain reaction was used to identify 13 pestivirus strains isolated from small ruminants in several mixed (sheep and goats) flocks of Southern Italy, and for classification as bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) type 1, BVDV type 2, and Border disease virus (BDV) genotypes. Of the nine ovine isolates, two were characterized as BVDV type 1, and seven as BVDV type 2. The four pestiviruses isolated from kids belong to BVDV type 1. None of the pestivirus strains tested could be classified as 'true' BDV (genotype 3). Although BVDV type 2 has been described in Europe rarely, the characterization of BD/90-1M strain as BVDV type 2, isolated in Italy in 1990, demonstrates that this genotype has been circulating in Italy since the 1990s.