Truffle Hunting in Italy: Community-based Tourism in Tuscany
Project Date: Sep 13, 2023
Caption:
Francesco unloads Sally, a Lagotto Romagnolo, from her carrier before the hunt. Sally's dog breed is known for its truffle hunting skills.
Size: 4480h x 5861w
Caption:
Sally pinpoints a truffle growing beneath the soil. The dogs are trained to find the aromatic fungus.
Size: 3863h x 5839w
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Francesco leads us down a road to his family home while Sally runs ahead in search of truffles. The Tuscan countryside is a popular area for truffle hunting.
Size: 4480h x 6720w
Caption:
Francesco pulls the truffle from Sally's mouth. He can also use his spade to carefully remove a truffle from the ground to avoid damaging it.
Size: 4480h x 6720w
Caption:
Francesco rewards Sally with a tiny piece of truffle.
Size: 4480h x 6720w
Caption:
None
Size: 1495h x 2299w
Caption:
Back at his family's home, Francesco helps Sally cool off with a bucket of water.
Size: 4480h x 6544w
Caption:
He spreads the truffles out to inspect after taking a call from his truffle broker. This batch is headed to local restaurants.
Size: 4480h x 6720w
Caption:
It was a job well-down for Sally after a morning of successful truffle hunting.
Size: 4129h x 4997w
Summary
Community-based tourism like truffle hunting in the Tuscany region of Italy, is a great way to learn about a culture away from the crowds and tourist traps.
Project Text
Truffle hunting in Italy is a centuries-old practice that combines knowledge of the terrain, a well-trained dog, and a bit of luck to find the treasured fungus. And visitors to the Tuscan countryside in Italy can join in on the hunt through several tours offered in the area.
We found Francesco online the day before our tour during a two-week vacation to Italy this past summer. We were staying in Barberino Val d'Elsa and decided last-minute to truffle hunt. Luckily, Francesco had space the next day.
We met Francesco and his dog Sally, a Lagotto Romagnolo breed known for being great truffle hunters, about 20 minutes from the first hunting area. We climbed in his car and traveled the winding roads through Tuscany. Our first stop was a wooded area just off the road.
Francesco let Sally out of her carrier in the backseat, strapped on his truffle hunting bag, grabbed his truffle hunting spade, and they were off. Sally started sniffing and running with Francesco close behind. The rest of us did our best to keep up. Finally, Sally stopped, sniffed aggressively at the dirt and started pawing with her feet. Francesco quickly jumped in right before Sally bit into the aromatic fungus. She'd found a truffle! Francesco showed us, rewarded Sally with a pinch of it to keep her interested, and we were off again.
Truffles are so valuable due to their popular flavor and aroma, and because they're difficult to find. Farmers can't easily plant and harvest truffles which prefer growing near certain types of trees. The truffles must also be carefully removed from the ground to avoid damage. That's where a well-trained dog like Sally works best.
That day, Sally did well finding a pile of black truffles which are hunted in the summer. Francesco drove us to his family home where he cooled off Sally with a bucket of water and inspected her finds. He spread the large harvest across a table and counted while accepting a call from his truffle broker. The truffles Sally found that day were headed to local restaurants.
We didn't leave with any truffles but were happy just to experience a typical day for Francesco and Sally. This type of local, community-based tourism was so much more meaningful than waiting in line to tour yet another museum. It gave us a glimpse of "real life" away from the crowds.
