Truffle Festivals In Italy: Everything You Need to Know

One of the best things about the Italian cultural is that you will find an abundance of local festivals, known as sagre, throughout the year. These festivals celebrate one type of food, drink, or ingredient from a specific town or region, everything from wine to chestnuts to cheese. And truffle lovers are in luck – because every fall, there are plenty of truffle festivals in Italy. In fact, you can find them all across the country.

Truffles at the festival in Gubbio. Wow!

What exactly are Truffles?

Truffles, known as tartufi in Italian, are mushrooms so rare and unique-tasting, they’re a delicacy that can set you back hundreds of euros per kilo. Of the two kinds, white truffles and black truffles, white are considered the finer delicacy and they also have slightly different seasons.

White truffles are in season from September to December, with the peak being in October and November. Black truffles come a little later, from December to March and this is when black truffle festivals will start popping up.

Truffle shavings add a whole new flavor to a simple dish.

Food festivals are a fantastic way to taste local foods directly from the producers, all while exploring off-the-beaten-path (and unfailingly beautiful) small towns. And you can’t get much more special than a truffle festival.

Truffle Festivals in Italy

What to expect when you visit

To be honest, you don’t have to be a foodie, or even like truffles, to enjoy a Truffle festival. First of all, when you go to a sagra, it is usually free to enter. You can wander among the stalls, tasting everything in sight. Or at tasting events, you can pay a nominal fee, like 5 euros, to get a plate of various meats, cheeses and other local delicacies. Whether you buy anything is completely up to you.

Tasting Sicilian specialties at the Gubbio festival

Along with whatever food they’re officially celebrating, most sagre also have other local foods on offer. A number of locations have tent after tent of specialty products, from taralli from Puglia to specialty cheeses from northern Italy.

Compared to what they’d be in an Italian market, and definitely to any import food shop back in the States, the prices are usually very competitive. And, of course, seller after seller entice customers by offering tastes and samples, meaning that a stroll through a tented area practically provides a meal.

Gubbio, just another one of Umbria’s lovely small towns

At a truffle festival, you will find tartufi tents. Walking inside, you will be bowled over by the overpowering, earthy smell of so much truffle in one place. And, while not every pocket can shell out 500 euros for some of the nicer truffles, there will be something for every price range, from smaller, uglier truffles that were a fraction of the cost, to truffled sauces, honeys, pates, and even a truffle-and-gorgonzola mix, for 5 euros and up.

Where to find Popular Truffle Festivals

There are numerous truffle festivals in Italy to enjoy, with most of them being in the fall/winter months, between October and December. Here is a run down of the some of the most popular.

• The town of Gubbio smells of white truffles with Gubbio Terra di Tartufo (Gubbio Land of Truffles), the national market exhibition of White Truffles and agri-food products. This takes place at the end of October, early november every year
• Still in Gubbio, the festival continues with “Il Mese del Tartufo” (the Month of the Truffle) with events centering around different truffle-related products and other Umbrian specialties.

Want to indulge on a plate like this… without paying an arm and a leg? Then get yourself to one of Italy’s many truffle festivals

• There are continued events in Alba at the granddaddy of all white truffle festivals in Italy, the Fiera Internazionale Tartufo Bianco D´Alba (International White Truffle Festival of Alba), which runs from early/mid October to December.
• Umbria’s Città di Castello hosts the Mostra Mercato Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco (National White Truffle Market Fair).
• Then there’s the Tartufesta in Carbonara di Po (an hour from Ferrara or Verona), including tastings of such Mantuan delicacies as risotto with truffle, pumpkin tortellini with truffle, and truffled carpaccio.

A delicious dish topped with black truffle slices

• Usually on the last two weekends of November the Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco di Campoli Appennino takes place just 50 minutes from Rome in Campoli. Those two weekends also see the Mostra Mercato Nazionale del Tartufo di Valtopina in the Umbrian town of Valtopina, near Assisi and Perugia.
• In Casteggio, an hour’s drive from Milan, is the Fiera del Tartufo e Miele (festival of truffles and honey).

A bowl of tagliatelle topped with slices of truffles.

• Muzzana del Turgnano, near Udine, hosts the Fiera del Tartufo Bianco Pregiato a Muzzana.
• The town of Sigillo near Perugia, Umbria hosts a Mostra Mercato del Tartufo Bianco.

For a more complete list of different (not necessarily truffle) sagre and fiere taking place across Italy, check out the sites Italy By Events. You can also find out more in this comprehensive guide to everything truffle, including the history, hunting with hogs versus dogs, and discover some speciality truffle dishes from Tuscany.

Just-picked truffles, a specialty of Umbria

There’s nothing like tasting Italy’s traditional foods and buying it right from the hands of the farmers and artisans who produce it. Nor is there a much more “authentic” experience than doing so among so many Italian families and shoppers, many of whom also came from nearby towns and cities just to get some specialty shopping done. And since most of these sagre are in gorgeous, off-the-beaten-path towns, they’re also a fantastic opportunity to see a new place in Italy.

FAQs – Truffle Festivals in Italy

What do truffles actually taste like?

Truffles have a distinctive, earthy, and aromatic flavor that’s hard to compare to anything else. White truffles are more pungent and garlicky, with musky, almost cheesy notes, while black truffles are milder, nuttier, and slightly chocolatey. A little goes a long way — truffles are usually shaved thinly over food to enhance, not overpower, a dish.

How much do truffles cost in Italy?

Prices vary widely depending on the type, quality, and season:

• White truffles: typically range from €300 to €600 per kilo, though exceptional specimens can cost much more
• Black truffles: generally more affordable, around €100–€300 per kilo

This is why it is a great idea to visit one of the truffle festivals in Italy. Because you’ll find smaller truffles, truffle creams, oils, pâtés, and sauces starting from €5–€15, making it easy to taste truffles without a big splurge.

What are the best dishes to eat with truffles?

Truffles shine best in simple dishes that let their aroma stand out. Classic pairings you’ll often find at festivals include:

• Fresh pasta like tagliatelle or tajarin
• Risotto with butter and Parmigiano Reggiano
• Eggs (fried, scrambled, or soft-boiled)
• Polenta
• Thinly sliced carpaccio or beef fillet

The rule of thumb: fewer ingredients, better truffle flavor.

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