First of all, the question everyone is thinking and nobody asks out loud: do you actually find anything? Or is it all a show for tourists, with the truffle already planted in the ground the night before?
The short answer: yes, you really do find them. And no, it isn’t staged. A serious truffle hunter would never hide a truffle in the ground — it would be an insult to his profession, to his dog and to a tradition that in Emilia goes back at least to the Middle Ages. That said, there is one more honest thing to say: no serious operator guarantees a find. Truffle availability depends entirely on the climate, the rains and the season. Anyone who promises you a sure truffle is probably selling you one — not letting you find one.
“The truffle isn’t found: the truffle is earned. And the credit, in this case, belongs entirely to the dog.”
1. What Is a Truffle (and Why It’s So Special)
The truffle is a hypogeous fungus — that is, it grows underground, at a depth of between 5 and 40 cm, in symbiosis with the roots of specific trees (oaks, lindens, poplars, hazels, hornbeams). It has no stem, no cap, and never emerges from the soil. That is why it is impossible to spot with the naked eye: you need a nose far more powerful than ours.
There are over a hundred species of truffle, but the most prized can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The Prized White Truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) is the undisputed king — the one that fetches prices of thousands of euros per kilo. But Emilia also has a local champion: the Fragno Black Truffle (Tuber uncinatum), recognized as a distinct species in 1991, which grows in the hills of the Val Baganza around Calestano, just over 30 km from Parma.
Also found in Emilia: the Prized Black Truffle (Tuber melanosporum, rarer) and the Scorzone, or Summer Black Truffle (Tuber aestivum). A truffle territory far richer than most visitors imagine — and with two distinct hubs: the Parma hills to the west, the Bologna hills to the east.
Historical fact: the truffle has been known in the Parma area since antiquity. Francesco Petrarch, a guest of Azzo da Correggio, lord of Parma, in the fourteenth century, came to know and mentioned the truffle gathered in the lands of Calestano. In the Emilian dialect the black truffle is called “trifola” — a term we also find in Carlo Malaspina’s 1856 vocabulary.
2. The Dog: The Real Protagonist
Forget the hunter with his stick: the protagonist of truffle hunting is the dog. Without him, the truffle would stay underground forever.
The Lagotto Romagnolo: the only breed in the world selected specifically for truffle searching. Originally from the valleys of Comacchio and the lagoons around Ravenna, where it was used as a water retriever from the sixteenth century, it lost its aquatic role with the nineteenth-century land reclamation and reinvented itself as a truffle finder. Its sense of smell is extraordinary, the hunting instinct has been bred out (so it doesn’t get distracted by game), and it is deeply attached to its handler. A well-trained Lagotto can start finding truffles at just a few months of age.
But not only the Lagotto: in the Emilian tradition, pointers, bracchi, cocker spaniels, spinoni and even mixed breeds are also used. Many hunters have their own preferences — some swear by the bracco for its speed, others prefer the Lagotto for its calm and precision. The truth is that the right dog is the one with the strongest bond with its handler.
How it works: the dog sniffs the volatile molecules that the ripe truffle releases through the soil. When it locates the spot, it starts digging with its front paws. The hunter steps in with the vanghetto (a small narrow-bladed tool, the only one permitted by law), gently extracts the truffle, fills the hole back in and rewards the dog with a treat — often a small piece of Parmigiano Reggiano, which for the Lagotto is an irresistible reward.
“The bond between hunter and dog is the heart of the search. It isn’t training: it’s complicity. And when the dog points, digs and finds, the joy belongs to both.”
3. Two Territories, Two Truffles: The Parma Hills and the Bologna Hills
When people talk about truffle hunting in Emilia, they tend to think of a single territory. In reality there are two, very different from each other — and it is worth knowing both, because they offer different experiences and products.
The Parma hills — the realm of the black truffle: the Val Baganza, the Val Parma and the upper Val Taro are the classic territory of the Fragno Black Truffle. Mixed broadleaf woods between 500 and 1,000 meters, sloping terrain exposed mostly to the north. Fragno, a hamlet of Calestano, hosts the Black Truffle Fair on the last Sunday of October, and the local truffle has been listed among the Traditional Agri-Food Products of Emilia-Romagna since 2000. It is also the land of the Parmigiano Reggiano dairies and the Langhirano ham factories — which makes it very easy to combine truffles and gastronomy in the same day.
The Bologna hills — the Land of Truffles: moving east, between the hills of Bologna and Imola, you enter a territory that the prized white truffle has made internationally famous. The heart is Savigno, in the municipality of Valsamoggia, about 35 km from Bologna: here, in the upper Samoggia valley, Tuber magnatum reaches some of the highest quality standards in Italy. Stony, clay-rich soils, woods of hazel, hornbeam, linden and poplar, a rural landscape that has remained almost untouched.
Savigno, City of Truffles: the town is a member of the National Association of Truffle Cities and every autumn hosts Tartófla, the International White Truffle Festival — in 2026 in its 43rd edition, spread over the last weekend of October and the first weekends of November. National truffle market, guided truffle-hunting walks, conferences, themed menus in the village’s restaurants. It is part of the Tartufesta, the widespread festival series across the Bologna hills that runs all autumn.
The gastronomic detail: in Savigno the truffle is paired with the most authentic Emilian street food — crescentine, borlenghi, tigelle, roasted chestnuts. The borlengo, in particular, is a specialty of this stretch of the Apennines between Modena and Bologna: a very thin, crisp crêpe seasoned with the “cunza,” a chopped mixture of lard, garlic and rosemary with Parmigiano. With a shaving of white truffle on top, it becomes something memorable.
“In Fragno you look for the black among the chestnut trees. In Savigno you look for the white among the hazels. Two dialects of the same language — and neither valley will ever admit that the other has the better truffle.”
4. The Tourist Experience: How It Really Works
Here is what to expect when booking a truffle hunt, whether in the Parma or the Bologna area.
Duration: on average 3 hours. The first part is dedicated to the introduction — the guide explains the types of truffle that grow in the area season by season, the territory, the relationship with the dog. Then you enter the woods for the actual search. Finally, a truffle tasting lunch, usually at a local agriturismo.
Who goes with you: in well-organized experiences there are two distinct figures — a licensed environmental guide (who handles the natural context and the storytelling) and a local hunter with his dog (who leads the search). It is no small detail: it means you are following a real professional in his own territory, not a tourist entertainment act.
What you find: it depends on the season. In the Bologna area the ideal window is October–November, at the height of the prized white truffle season. In the Parma area autumn is just as favorable for the Fragno Black Truffle, while in summer the search is for the Scorzone, less prized but very fragrant.
The uncomfortable question: what if you find nothing? It can happen, and it’s fair to know before you go. Since it is a real search, no serious operator guarantees a find or an entirely truffle-based menu. But professional guides know the territory inch by inch, and the final tasting is always there. In any case, the value of the experience lies in the journey, not in the haul.
What to bring: waterproof hiking shoes with non-slip soles, comfortable clothes, a waterproof jacket. You walk on uneven, often damp, sloping terrain.
5. The Rules of the Hunt: It’s Not the Wild West
Truffle searching and digging in Italy is governed by precise laws — and since December 2021 it has officially been part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, thanks to the process started by the National Association of Truffle Cities, of which Savigno and Valsamoggia are also members.
License: to hunt for truffles in Emilia-Romagna you need a permit issued after an exam. Participants in tourist experiences are covered by the hunter-guide’s license.
Hours: searching is permitted only during daylight hours, from one hour before dawn to one hour after sunset.
Obligation to refill: every hole dug to extract a truffle must be filled back in. The truffle lives in symbiosis with tree roots: damaging the mycelium means destroying the future harvest.
The vanghetto: the only tool permitted for extraction. Hoes, spades and shovels are prohibited. The truffle must be extracted with the delicacy of an archaeologist.
These rules aren’t bureaucracy: they are the reason the Emilian woods keep producing truffles after centuries.
6. Truffles and Cooking: The Essential Pairings
Once you’ve found (or bought) the truffle, follow one fundamental rule: the less you cook it, the better. Heat destroys the volatile aromas. It is used raw, shaved paper-thin, as a finishing touch on simple dishes that highlight its fragrance.
Eggs with truffle: the most classic pairing and the most effective. A hunters’ trick: store the whole truffle with the eggs in a sealed jar for 24–48 hours before cooking them — the eggs absorb the aroma through the shell.
Tagliatelle and tortellini: thin egg pasta, melted butter and shaved truffle. No cream, no garlic, nothing to distract. Even a bowl of anolini in broth gladly accepts a shaving of white on top.
With Parmigiano Reggiano: a fondue of aged Parmigiano with shaved truffle is one of the most luxurious dishes Emilian cuisine can offer. Pair it with a glass of dry Malvasia from the Colli di Parma or, on the Bologna side, with a Pignoletto.
“The truffle isn’t an ingredient: it’s a guest of honor. And like any guest of honor, it must be treated with respect — which means not covering it, not cooking it and not mixing it with flavors that steal the show.”
7. When to Go: The Truffle Hunter’s Calendar
Prized White Truffle: September 15 – January 31. The golden period is October–November, when it reaches full aromatic ripeness. It is the right window for the Bologna hills.
Fragno Black Truffle (Uncinato): October 1 – January 31. Fragno Black Truffle Fair on the last Sunday of October in Calestano.
Prized Black Truffle: November 1 – March 31.
Scorzone (Summer Black Truffle): May 1 – August 31. Less prized but fragrant and versatile. The summer option for those who don’t want to wait for autumn.
And what about porcini? Anyone visiting the Apennines in autumn discovers that the truffle is not the only treasure of the undergrowth. The porcini mushroom — the absolute star of Apennine cuisine, from risottos to tagliatelle — is gathered in the same hills, from late summer to mid-autumn. Those who have already tried truffle hunting will find porcini foraging a complementary experience: same woods, different rhythm, and the very particular satisfaction of spotting the mushroom with the naked eye, without the dog’s help.
8. Food Valley Travel Experiences
Food Valley Travel organizes truffle-hunting experiences with professional hunters and their dogs, both in the Parma hills and in the Bologna hills. Every experience includes an introduction to the world of truffles, a guided search in the woods and a truffle-based tasting lunch at a local agriturismo.
→ Truffle Hunting Experience – Parma Hills – the Parma version of the experience, in the Apennine woods where the Fragno Black Truffle grows. Environmental guide, local hunter with his dog and final tasting.
→ Truffle Hunting Experience – Bologna Hills – three hours in the Savigno area, in the heart of the Land of Truffles between Bologna and Imola — the territory of the Prized White Truffle. Environmental guide, expert hunter and a truffle-based lunch at an agriturismo, local wine included. Available Wednesday through Sunday.
→ Porcini Mushrooms Hunting Experience – Hills of Parma – the alternative (or complement) to truffle hunting: a day in the woods of the Parma Apennines in search of the king of mushrooms, with a tasting of the dishes that celebrate it.
→ Food Valley Gourmet Tour – The Original (Half Day) – half a day between a dairy and a ham factory in the same hills where truffles are hunted. In autumn, the ideal combination to fill a whole day.
Practical tip: book early, especially for October–November — the autumn experiences are the most requested, and in Savigno the Tartófla weekends sell out quickly. If you have two days available, an idea that works well is to devote one to white truffle in the Bologna hills and one to black in the Parma hills: you’ll understand the difference better than from any article.
The Hidden Treasure of the Food Valley
Truffle hunting is not a tourist attraction: it is an immersion in a world with its own rules, rhythms and secrets. It is the relationship between a man and his dog, the intimate knowledge of a territory, respect for a natural cycle that cannot be forced. And when the dog plants its nose in the ground, digs, and you see that dark, fragrant tuber emerge from the earth, you understand why UNESCO recognized this practice as part of humanity’s heritage.
The next time you visit Emilia in autumn, plan a morning in the woods — among the chestnut trees of the Parma area or the hazels of Savigno. You don’t need to be an expert, you don’t need to be athletic. You just need the right nose — and that, fortunately, belongs to the dog.
