I like to visit San Miniato, a beautiful hilltop town not far from Pisa. It is tiny, but has some excellent restaurants and food shops. Their annual Truffle Festival, which has been held for around 50 years, seemed like a good excuse to return to the town. It is held each year in November on the last 3 weekends of the month.
The hills around San Miniato provide the perfect environment for the growth of white truffles, Tuber Magnatum Picu. Thousands of people descend on the town for the event each year to taste truffles in a variety of ways. The whole town is taken over by stalls celebrating truffles and other Italian edible delights.
I went on the first Saturday of the festival and was lucky to have fine weather to wander the streets and take in all the delicious things on display.
The hero of the festival is the white truffle. In the last photo you can see a truffle being weighed and the price calculated. This one was the size of a walnut and was priced at €90.
I made a few purchases, including some truffle sausages, which have since been cooked and happily eaten. I sat down for lunch at Essenza, where I have eaten before. I had pici with a ragu of cinta sinese and fresh truffles…a perfect end to my San Miniato visit. I left just before the rain began.
I took the train from Pisa to San Miniato. On the Sundays of the festival there is a shuttle bus to the village from the nearby Pam store. All the car parks in San Miniato are closed for the festival, so if you drive, you need to park at San Miniato Basso and look for the shuttle bus to the top.
There are 2 more weekends of Truffle festival this November. Saturday 20th, Sunday 21st and Saturday 27th, Sunday 28th. It is a great day out.