On Sunday 6 September 2026, Menconico, a village in the upper Val Staffora in the middle and upper Oltrepò Pavese, hosts the 39th edition of the Truffle Festival (Festa del Tartufo). The event, organised by the Municipality of Menconico with the contribution of Regione Lombardia, celebrates the local black truffle with a full day of nature walks, tastings, the traditional amateur truffle-hunting dog competition, stalls selling local products and live music.

The day's programme

10.00 am – Walk through the woods and to the Mulino Spalla. The day opens with a nature walk through the woods of Menconico and to the historic Mulino Spalla mill, guided by naturalists from the Volo di Rondine Association, who introduce participants to the area's habitats, plants and wildlife.

12.30 pm – Truffle lunch. At midday, a lunch built entirely around truffle dishes, prepared by chef A. Puntara and his team. Booking is recommended.

2.30 pm – Amateur truffle-hunting dog competition. The early afternoon brings the traditional, non-competitive truffle-hunting contest, featuring the local trifolau (truffle hunters) and their trained dogs — the highlight for enthusiasts and visitors alike.

4.30 pm – Prize-giving. The day closes with the prize-giving ceremony for the amateur truffle-hunting competition.

Stalls and live music

Throughout the day, the streets of Menconico host stalls selling local products, giving visitors a taste of the genuine flavours of Oltrepò Pavese. Live music by Mauro Starone accompanies the festival, making it a lively, family-friendly day out.

Menconico, among Italy's Truffle Towns

The 2026 edition of the festival comes at a particularly significant time for the village: during the year, the Municipality of Menconico officially joined the National Association “Città del Tartufo” (Truffle Towns), the network that has brought together nearly ninety Italian territories devoted to the tourism and gastronomic promotion of truffles since 1990, including Alba, Norcia and San Miniato. The recognition rewards a long-standing vocation: as early as the mid-19th century, naturalist Carlo Vittadini identified Oltrepò Pavese as one of the richest truffle areas he had explored, and the upper Val Staffora remains today one of the most important harvesting grounds for the scorzone, the prized summer black truffle, whose season runs from 1 June to 15 September. In recent years, Menconico's connection to truffles has also grown through its twinning with the Croatian town of Motovun and the creation of the Butalà, a dish combining potatoes from Brallo with local black truffle.

Getting there

Menconico lies in the southern part of the Province of Pavia, about 60 kilometres from the provincial capital, reachable by car via the SS461 road, which climbs the Oltrepò Pavese valley. The village is part of a wider trail through the villages of the upper Pavese Apennines that includes Varzi, Zavattarello and Santa Margherita di Staffora, making it easy to turn the Truffle Festival into a weekend exploring the area.

Information and bookings

The Menconico Truffle Festival is organised by the Municipality of Menconico with the contribution of Regione Lombardia. For the 10.00 am nature walk, bookings can be made by contacting Vera on 339 4518087. For the 12.30 pm truffle lunch, bookings can be made by contacting Giorgina on 339 6756885 or Franco on 333 3539663.

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