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Surrounded by bucolic vineyards and rows of olive trees, my wife and I follow truffle hunter Francesco Veltorni and his partner Mery into the Tuscan forest, their Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, Rigel and John Wick, close at our heels.
Francesco, also known as the Tuscany Truffle Hunter, watches his dogs carefully as they investigate the terrain around us, sniffing for black truffles. Rigel jets off to the base of a tree, and her tail stiffens, pointing up—the signal that the dog has found one. Mery runs over to inspect Rigel's work. “Ha trovato! (She found one!)” Mery exclaims from a distance. “Brava, Rigel, brava!” The Lagotto Romagnolo is an obedient breed of truffle-hunters, but if given too much time with their finds, they’ll happily inhale a truffle as a snack. With a flurry of praise and a treat, Rigel is back on the hunt as we smell and touch the newfound treasure, reveling in its rarity.
Watching the dogs work is a spectacle in and of itself; they gracefully trot around the forest, effortlessly unearthing the flavorful nuggets as they go. But the connection between human and dog also demands appreciation. It’s no wonder that, pre-pandemic, hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked to Italy each year in search of experiences like these.
In 2018, truffle tourism in Italy alone was worth an estimated €63 million (approximately $73 million). After the country closed its borders from March to May 2020, Italian tourism dipped from 100 million tourists per year to 40 million—a massive hit to the Italian economy and the truffle industry. With international travel finally picking up again, truffle tourism is having its much anticipated revival, aided by the fact that more travelers are interested in experiences outdoors, says Giulio Benuzzi, professional truffle hunter and the world’s first truffle concierge at the Hotel Savoy Firenze.
The truffle itself—the rare, subterranean fungus found at the base of certain species of oak trees, which grows most abundantly in Italy—draws food-loving travelers from far and wide. The prized delicacy has a pungent, petrol-like aroma as unmistakable as smoked meat.
But while it’s a hot item today, the truffle hasn’t always been so revered. Appreciated by farmers in the early millennia, the fungus was then deemed “devilish” by the church in the Middle Ages thanks to its reputation as an aphrodisiac. It wasn’t until the Renaissance that the truffle was revitalized and valued once again, with "truffles offered to the Royal Family” during this time, says Benuzzi. While some generational truffle hunters maintained the tradition throughout time, the food has had many dips in popularity as a result of centuries of repression.
The truffle came back into vogue internationally after trifolau (Italian for truffle hunter) Giacomo Morra’s marketing campaign in the early- to mid-1900s, which involved sending white truffles from Alba, Piedmont, to celebrities and other influential figures such as Winston Churchill and Marilyn Monroe. Before Morra’s marketing savvy, which put truffles on the radar of every chef and gourmand globally, the truffle was most recently seen as swill by many farmers, says executive chef Paolo Lavezzini of the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze. Now, with the truffle market well-established and thriving, the rarer white truffle from Alba (tartufi d’Alba) can cost as much as $4,500 per pound.
While the Piedmont region, Alba specifically, is considered the epicenter of the truffle trade after Morra helped put the city on the map—the annual International White Truffle Fair in Alba runs from October to December, during the height of white truffle season—the last couple years have seen luxury hotels in Tuscany double down on unique truffle hunting offerings to lure travelers from the proclaimed truffle capital.
At Hotel Savoy Firenze, guests can hunt truffles with Benuzzi in the forests near his private country house in Bagno a Ripoli. The experience includes a brief pre-hunting aperitivo, followed by a truffle-based lunch or dinner prepared by Benuzzi himself, as he shares stories of hosting truffle-hunting excursions on Top Chef and The Bachelor.
Meanwhile, the Four Seasons Firenze has teamed up with one of Italy’s top truffle-hunting families, Savini of Savini Tartufi—this truffle hunting family is best known for the 2-pound, 13-ounce white truffle they found in 2007, which sold at auction for a mind-boggling $330,000—the highest such sale ever, according to Guinness World Records. Guests can choose from a few offerings, including a four-hour funghi hunting experience, with a stop at the Savini family museum and lunch; or a five-hour excursion, which also includes a cooking class with a professional chef.
At COMO Castello del Nero, located in the heart of Chianti, travelers can join Francesco and Mery for truffle hunting on the hotel’s estate. The findings from the day are enjoyed during a truffle dinner at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, La Torre, a one-of-a-kind culinary experience launched in 2019. Guests can expect an ever-changing seasonal menu with truffle-laced pastas, and unique dishes such as Steak of Chianina—an ancient Italian cattle breed mainly found in Tuscany.
The hope is that these new truffle experiences will give travelers another reason to visit Tuscany, after the destination was hit hard by COVID-related tourism dips. The region saw a 69 percent decrease in tourism due to the pandemic—the second-worst drop in Italy behind Venice’s 71.9 percent.
“The COVID impact was very bad during the lockdown as we didn’t host any truffle experiences,” says Benuzzi. “The demand for truffles also dropped by at least 50 percent [due to restaurants closing]. Many hunters decided to leave the business and try something different to survive.” Benuzzi resorted to making money by selling his art and truffle cheese to his community of clients.
Francesco and Mery from COMO’s truffle hunting experience fared better than some of their peers, as their business focuses on training and breeding the Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, more so than tourist excursions and selling truffles themselves. Francesco occasionally sells the odd truffle if the value is worth the time, but he finds that the timely turnaround—truffles should be eaten within three days of harvesting—can be too much of a hassle. (The upside? Almost every truffle that Francesco and Mery find, they keep and eat themselves—an enviable luxury that, for some trifolau, would otherwise come at the expense of their livelihood.)
Benuzzi says that only the most well-established truffle hunters were able to weather the storm caused by the pandemic, leaving parts the truffle industry in limbo with some experiences no longer available, while new ones such as COMO’s and Hotel Firenze’s have stepped in hoping to fill the gap. At the Hotel Savoy, Benuzzi adds, his team finally saw booking interest begin to rise in summer and fall of 2020, with demand continuing to grow since—though visitor numbers have yet to hit pre-pandemic levels.
There is one silver lining to this slump. “With the demand of truffles having been significantly reduced during 2020, less truffles were harvested, which allowed the fungi to generate more truffle families in the soil,” he says. “This was the only positive aspect of the lockdown, in addition to the lower presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which also allows trees to be more oxygenated and healthy for the truffles.”
Walking out of the Tuscan forest with a small wax bag full of these delicacies seemed to corroborate Benuzzi’s insight—there are truffles aplenty in Tuscany, and fewer visitors to compete with for them. But as I enjoyed those same morsels shaved atop a pile of buttery tagliolini that evening at La Torre, I couldn't help but look forward to when other visitors might return—and trifolau like Benuzzi get a chance to share their time-perfected art with a larger audience once again.
How to do it
Where to go: There are a number of regions throughout Italy—Piedmont and Tuscany, but also Umbria, Lombardy, Liguria, Veneto, and others—where travelers can hunt for truffles, with the types of funghi available varying by season.
When to visit: Winter white truffles are found between October and early January, while the summer white truffle season begins in mid-January and lasts until late April. Winter black truffle season runs from November to March, and the summer black truffle season extends from May to September.
Can't-miss experiences in Tuscany: In addition to the new truffle experiences at COMO Castello del Nero, Four Seasons Firenze, and Hotel Savoy Firenze, travelers can also book private cooking demonstrations through Winerist, or enjoy truffle hunting followed by an exclusive four-course dinner at Belmond Castello di Casole, which reopens in April 2022. Audley and Allure of Tuscany are expert travel specialists who can help plan such trips.
