Truffle season in the Bologna hills

When is white truffle season in the Bologna hills?

From September to December. October and November are the busiest months, because that is when the fairs run.

Food magazine Scatti di Gusto puts the white truffle of the Colli Bolognesi in season from September to December. The hills around Savigno, in the Valsamoggia municipality, are the heart of it. Truffle hunting and extraction in Italy are on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, a point the Savigno festival makes on its Bologna Welcome event page.

The fairs cluster in the middle of the season. September is early and quiet. December still has truffles, but the festivals are over. Our pick is a late October or early November weekend: truffles, open markets and the last of the autumn colour in the vineyards.

What is Tartufeste 2026 and where does it happen?

A run of truffle events in several towns of the Bolognese Apennines, with markets, tastings, guided walks and truffle-dog contests, ending on 8 November 2026.

Bologna Welcome's autumn festival roundup lists the Tartufeste from 10 October to 8 November 2026. Its separate Tartufesta event page gives the start as 17 October. The end date matches, the start does not, so check the programme for the town and weekend you want.

The format is the same from town to town: a market of truffles and local products, tastings led by truffle producers, guided excursions, truffle-dog competitions and special menus at food stands and some restaurants. Entry is free in the town centres. Some events need booking, and the full town-by-town programme is published by the Città Metropolitana di Bologna.

When is Tartofla in Savigno in 2026?

On four weekends: 24-25 October, 31 October and 1 November, 7-8 November and 14-15 November 2026, from 9:00 to 18:00.

Tartófla is the Festival Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco, now in its 43rd edition. It takes over Piazza XV Agosto and the centre of Savigno, a village in Valsamoggia under 40 km from Bologna. The event page promises about 150 exhibitors, a crafts market, conferences on truffles and harvesting, guided truffle-hunting walks and themed menus in local restaurants.

Two practical points. Groups should book ahead at the Ristorante Tartófla. And the detailed day-by-day schedule was not on the official pages when we checked, so look at the Savigno festival site in the week before you go. Our advice: go on a Saturday morning, when the stalls are easier to browse.

What other food festivals are on near Bologna this autumn?

Fried gnocco in Castelletto di Serravalle, chestnuts in Castel del Rio and the Baccanale in Imola. Mortadella, Please! in Zola Predosa has just finished.

All of these come from the same Bologna Welcome list, and all have free entry. The gnocco fritto festival is a good warm-up for the truffle weekends: fried dough with salumi in Castelletto di Serravalle, part of Valsamoggia like Savigno. Castel del Rio is further east, in the Santerno valley, and its festival is built around the Marrone IGP chestnut.

The Baccanale in Imola runs restaurant menus on a theme, this year "Incontri: la cucina italiana senza confini". Bologna Welcome gives two different dates for it on the same page, so confirm with the organisers before you plan around it.

How do you combine a truffle fair with a winery visit?

Book a morning tasting in the western hills, then drive on to Savigno for the afternoon market. The two are in the same stretch of the Colli Bolognesi.

Terre Rosse Vallania is a family estate in the Colli Bolognesi that the listing places about 15 minutes from Bologna, with Zola Predosa as its location. The visit lasts 1.5 hours: the cellar, a short vineyard walk, then four wines with mortadella, tigelle and Parmigiano Reggiano. One of them is a Pignoletto Superiore DOCG, the hill wine Bologna can call its own. Savigno lies further into the same western hills. Book a morning slot and you can reach the truffle market in the afternoon.

Getting there is the catch. The Bologna-Vignola railway stops at Zola Predosa and Bazzano, not at the wineries and not in Savigno. Vallania's listing mentions transport to the venue but does not say from where; one guest took a taxi from the centre. If two of you are going, hire a car for the day and give the driver the spittoon. East of the city, Cantina Tomisa in the San Lazzaro hills is the alternative for a city-side tasting without the truffle drive. More options are in our Bologna wine tours guide.

A cellar visit, a vineyard walk and four estate wines, including Pignoletto Superiore DOCG, with mortadella and tigelle.

★ 4.9 · 1.5 hours

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What should you know before going to a truffle fair?

Book the guided walks ahead, bring layers for the hills, and check the programme the week before, because dates and events change.

The town centres are free to enter, but guided truffle-hunting walks and some tastings need booking. If you add a winery, rain can cancel the vineyard walk, as the Vallania listing warns. Dress for a cooler, damper day than in the city, and give yourself time: the fairs run until 18:00 and the drive back is on hill roads.

If you cannot get to the hills, the city still eats well in autumn. Our guide to what to eat in Bologna covers the year-round classics. Planning the whole trip? Our how many days in Bologna guide shows where a hill day fits.

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