Mary,
Maremmas are a very nice breed and make a great working LGD's as long as they come from working lines,unfortunately they look like a big fluffy polar bear cubs as puppies and are sold as pet dogs.
Nothing against pet dogs unless they are bred to produce more pet pups,within 3 generation all their inbred working abilities gets muddled and they turn up at the pounds and rescues as unmanageable breed which is quite tragic.
abax,
LGD breeds are quite unusual creatures. Independent thinkers,very maternal including males,little suspicious of newcomers unless they are introduced properly and very territorial. They sleep the day away and are nocturnal,their big barks keeps predators (coyotes or stray dog packs) at bay.
I have some pictures from Turkey where the shepherds keeps as many as 8 to 15 dogs when they take their flock to greener pastures for hundreds of miles away from home base that can last 6-8 months. Seen so many dogs at work out in the wilderness is quite a site where wolves are much bigger than the dogs.