Acqualagna and the White Truffle of Le Marche: A Local’s Guide for 2026

By Moreno Moretti, founder of Italy Charme, born in Le Marche · Updated 17 October 2026 · 13 min read

I was born in Le Marche, and every autumn the same smell arrives before the fair does. It drifts out of the restaurant kitchens in the Candigliano valley weeks before the first stall goes up in Acqualagna. Most American travelers have never heard of this town. They know Alba, because Alba has had the press for a century. This guide is for the people who want the same white truffle, closer to the ground and usually at a fairer price.

If you are still deciding between regions, start with my comparison of where to go truffle hunting in Italy. If Le Marche is already on your list, read on.

Le Marche is my home region, and the truffle hunters we work with here are personal friends. When I send guests into these woods, I send them to people I trust, which is why I can promise a real hunt and not a show.

Why is Acqualagna called the truffle capital of Italy?

Not the most famous name. The busiest market.

Acqualagna earns the title through trade, not fame. The town says it holds first place in Italy for truffle sales, and that around two thirds of the national harvest passes through its dealers. That figure comes from the town itself and no independent statistic confirms it, so treat it as a strong local claim rather than a measured number. What anyone can see is the infrastructure: according to the municipality, the area counts some 250 cultivated truffle grounds, 12 truffle shops and 10 processing companies.

Geography explains the rest. Acqualagna sits in the Candigliano valley, a few minutes from the Furlo Gorge, where oak, poplar, willow and lime trees grow on the limestone soils that truffles need. The hills of the Montefeltro, the Alpe della Luna and the Metauro valley all sit within an easy drive. Hunters from across the province bring their finds here to sell, which is why the market in Acqualagna is about volume and freshness rather than ceremony.

The craft behind it now has world recognition. On 16 December 2021, UNESCO inscribed “Truffle hunting and extraction in Italy: traditional knowledge and practice” on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The nomination was promoted by the Italian truffle hunters’ federation and the National Association of Truffle Cities, of which Acqualagna is a member.

When is the Acqualagna White Truffle Fair in 2026?

Seven days, four weekends, one square.

The 61st International White Truffle Fair of Acqualagna runs on seven days between 25 October and 15 November 2026, centered on Piazza Enrico Mattei. The fair has been held since 1966 and became “International” with its 60th edition in 2025. Some websites list a continuous run from late October to the end of November. That is wrong. These are the official days published by the town:

Day	Date	Highlights from the program
Sunday	25 October	Opening day. Cooking show with chef Michele Pidone
Saturday	31 October	National contest of the Truffle Cities begins
Sunday	1 November	Contest final. All Saints Day, expect the biggest crowds
Saturday	7 November	Cooking show with Belgian chef Danny Horseele
Sunday	8 November	Hungarian chef Érsek Gergely with Giorgio Barchiesi, known as Giorgione
Saturday	14 November	Cooking show with chef Emmanuele Guido
Sunday	15 November	Closing day with chef Stefano Ciotti and Sonia Peronaci

The 2026 edition has more than 50 events. The new Truffle Market building hosts the cooking shows, and the food trail includes restaurant menus built around the truffle, a truffle bistro and a tasting square. Hungary is the guest country this year, and a forum on wine culture links Alba and Acqualagna directly. The Truffle Museum stays open from 10:00 to 19:00 on fair days.

How many people come? The answer depends on who you ask. The mayor has spoken of around 20,000 visitors in recent years, while older tourism pages claim more than 200,000. My honest summary: tens of thousands of people over seven days, concentrated on the Sundays. If you want to talk to the dealers and actually see the truffles, go on a Saturday morning.

Which truffles grow in Le Marche, and when?

The legal calendar, not the menu calendar.

Le Marche produces truffles all year, and each species has a legal season fixed by regional law. The calendar below follows the table published by the Regione Marche after the 2024 update of the regional truffle law. Many websites still carry older dates, so if a restaurant offers “fresh white truffle” in September, ask where it came from. Digging is not allowed at all in September and May.

Truffle	Latin name	Legal season in Le Marche
White truffle	Tuber magnatum Pico	1 October to 15 January
Black winter truffle (the Norcia truffle)	Tuber melanosporum	1 December to 15 March
Summer truffle (scorzone)	Tuber aestivum	1 June to 31 August, and 1 October to 31 December
Autumn black truffle (uncinato)	Tuber aestivum var. uncinatum	1 October to 31 December
Bianchetto (marzuolo)	Tuber borchii	15 January to 15 April
Winter black truffle (brumale)	Tuber brumale	1 January to 15 March

The Truffle Museum in Acqualagna sums it up well: four varieties, one for each season. White truffle in autumn, black in winter, bianchetto in spring and scorzone in summer. For a traveler this matters, because it means a truffle day in Le Marche is possible in almost any month except September and May. The white truffle, the one worth crossing an ocean for, belongs to October, November and December.

How much does white truffle cost in Acqualagna?

Real 2026 figures, with their sources.

In October 2026, an Acqualagna dealer quoted white truffle at 2,000 to 4,500 euros per kilo for private buyers, and 2,000 to 2,500 euros for restaurants. Alba markets were reported at 350 to 600 euros per 100 grams in the same weeks, which works out at 3,500 to 6,000 euros per kilo. Truffle prices move every week with the weather and the size of the pieces, so read the table as a snapshot, not a price list. During the fair, Acqualagna also publishes an official truffle exchange, the Borsa del Tartufo, which is the figure the dealers watch.

Market	White truffle price	Source and date
Acqualagna, private buyers	2,000 to 4,500 euros per kg	Local dealer, Il Resto del Carlino, 9 October 2026
Acqualagna, restaurants	2,000 to 2,500 euros per kg	Same source
Alba markets	350 to 600 euros per 100 g	Alba local press, 10 to 14 October 2026
Alba official price list, 2025 season	400 to 500 euros per 100 g (15 to 20 g pieces)	National Truffle Study Centre, October and November 2025
Acqualagna, before the 2025 fair	1,500 to 2,000 euros per kg	Il Resto del Carlino, 2025

Prices checked on 17 October 2026. The 2026 harvest is small, so the gap with Alba is narrower than in 2025. I will update this table during the fair.

In a restaurant the maths is simpler. A plate of tagliatelle with fresh white truffle in Acqualagna costs around 40 to 50 euros this season, according to the same dealer. The truffle is shaved at the table and weighed, so ask for the price per gram before the waiter starts.

Alba or Acqualagna: which fair should you choose?

The same truffle, two very different days.

Choose Alba for the glamour, the auction and the Barolo. Choose Acqualagna for a working market, lower prices and fewer foreign crowds. Both sell the same species, Tuber magnatum Pico. The difference is the experience around it.

	Alba (Piedmont)	Acqualagna (Le Marche)
Fair 2026	96th edition, weekends from 10 October to 6 December	61st edition, seven days from 25 October to 15 November
Entry	6 euros for the World Truffle Market	The square and stalls are open to walk around. Some dinners and tastings are ticketed
Price, October 2026	350 to 600 euros per 100 g (press)	2,000 to 4,500 euros per kg (dealer)
Atmosphere	International, polished, book months ahead	Local and commercial, dealers and families
Big moment	World Auction at Grinzane Cavour, 8 November	Truffle Cities contest, 31 October and 1 November
Nearest gateway	Turin or Milan	Bologna, about 2 hours 15 minutes by car. Ancona is the other option
Rest of the year	Mostly a white truffle destination	Four species, with smaller fairs in February and August

My advice to most of our guests is simple. If this is your one truffle trip and you want the full Piedmont experience with wine, go to Piedmont and the Langhe. If you want to understand the truffle as the people who hunt it do, and spend the rest of the week in a part of Italy that has not been packaged yet, come to Le Marche.

Can visitors go truffle hunting in Le Marche?

Yes, beside a licensed hunter. Never alone.

Visitors can join a truffle hunt in Le Marche, but only alongside a licensed hunter, because Italian law does not allow anyone to dig without a permit. To hunt truffles in Le Marche you need a regional license, obtained after an exam of 30 questions and an interview on species and host trees. The minimum age is 14, the license lasts ten years and the regional fee is 92.96 euros per year.

The national truffle law of 1985 sets the method. The search must be carried out with a trained dog, and digging must be limited to the exact spot where the dog started. Hunting at night, raking the soil and digging up unripe truffles are all forbidden, and the region even fixes the hours month by month: in November, for example, the woods open at 5:30 and close at 17:30. This is why you will not see pigs in Italian woods. The law does not name them, but by requiring a dog it rules them out in practice, and pigs damage the ground anyway.

The dog you are most likely to meet is the Lagotto Romagnolo, a curly coated breed from nearby Romagna. Many hunters also work with mixed breeds trained from puppies. A good hunt lasts two to three hours. You walk at the dog’s pace through oak and poplar woods, the dog stops and scratches, and the hunter kneels and finishes the work with a small spade called a vanghetto. Nothing is guaranteed. A morning with no white truffle is part of the honesty of the thing.

When UNESCO recognized Italian truffle hunting in 2021, its committee asked Italy to keep tourism well managed and to protect the welfare of the dogs. We take that seriously. We work with hunters who know their ground and their animals, and we keep the groups small.

What other truffle fairs are there in Le Marche?

A different town every weekend of October.

Acqualagna is the largest, but four other autumn fairs make it possible to follow the white truffle across the region for six weeks. Smaller fairs mean easier parking, closer contact with the hunters and often better prices.

Fair	Dates 2026	Why go
Pergola, 29th fair	Sundays 4, 11 and 18 October	Opens the season. Home of the Gilded Bronzes of Cartoceto di Pergola
Sant’Angelo in Vado, 63rd show	Weekends from 10 October to 1 November	One of the oldest truffle fairs in Italy, in the Metauro valley
Sant’Agata Feltria, 42nd fair	Sundays 4, 11, 18 and 25 October, and 1 November	Montefeltro, just over the border in Emilia-Romagna. Around 160 exhibitors
Acqualagna, 61st fair	25 and 31 October, 1, 7, 8, 14 and 15 November	The largest market and the widest program
Amandola, Sibillini Mountains	Late October and early November (check the town website)	Southern Marche, combined with the Sibillini National Park

Acqualagna also holds smaller fairs outside the white truffle season: one for the black winter truffle around Carnival in February, and one for the summer truffle in August near the Furlo.

What should you eat and see around Acqualagna?

The truffle wants simple food. The valley wants a full day.

White truffle belongs on simple, warm, fatty food: fresh egg pasta, fried eggs, butter and young cheese. In Acqualagna that means tagliolini or tagliatelle with butter, two eggs fried in the pan, or a plate of Casciotta d’Urbino, the soft local cheese, with prosciutto from Carpegna. In the colder weeks, look for a cheese fonduta finished with shavings at the table. Black truffle works on red meat and in sauces. To drink, order a Bianchello del Metauro, the dry white wine of this same valley, or a Verdicchio if you want more structure. Never cook the white truffle. It is shaved raw over the hot plate at the last second.

Between meals, the valley has more to offer than most visitors expect:

• The Truffle Museum in Piazza Mattei, organized in three rooms: discovery, initiation and rarity. Weekend opening hours change through the year, so check before you go.
• Casa Mattei, a multimedia museum in the birthplace of Enrico Mattei, the founder of the Italian energy company ENI.
• The Furlo Gorge, a limestone canyon on the old Roman Via Flaminia, with the tunnel cut through the rock under Emperor Vespasian in AD 77.
• Urbino, the Renaissance city of Raphael and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, less than an hour away.

How do you plan a truffle trip from Bologna?

Two hours from the airport, a world away from the crowds.

Fly into Bologna, drive about two hours and 15 minutes to Acqualagna, and base yourself in the hills for four or five nights. The road follows the motorway along the Adriatic to Fano and then turns inland through the Metauro valley. Ancona airport is the other option. A rental car works, but a private driver means nobody has to choose between the truffle and the wine.

The ideal rhythm: arrive on a Friday, hunt on Saturday morning, walk the fair on Saturday afternoon when the dealers have time to talk, and keep Sunday for Urbino or the Furlo. Add a day on the coast or in the vineyards of the Verdicchio, and you have a week that feels nothing like the Italy of the postcards. You can read more about the region on my Le Marche destination page, and if you are combining it with a city break, Bologna is the natural start.

If you want to taste the other great Italian truffle, the black truffle of Norcia, plan a second trip in winter: our guide to Umbria covers it.

Frequently asked questions

The questions our guests ask before every truffle trip.

When is the Acqualagna truffle fair in 2026?

The 61st International White Truffle Fair of Acqualagna runs on seven days in 2026: Sunday 25 October, Saturday 31 October, Sunday 1 November, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, and Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November. The main events take place in Piazza Enrico Mattei and in the new Truffle Market building.

Is white truffle cheaper in Acqualagna than in Alba?

Usually, yes. In October 2026 an Acqualagna dealer quoted 2,000 to 4,500 euros per kilo, while Alba markets were reported at 350 to 600 euros per 100 grams, or 3,500 to 6,000 euros per kilo. The gap changes every season and is smaller in a poor year like 2026, so compare on the day and by size.

When is white truffle season in Le Marche?

White truffle can legally be dug in Le Marche from 1 October to 15 January, according to the regional calendar. The best months for quality and choice are October and November, which is why the regional fairs all fall in that window. No truffle of any kind may be dug in September or May.

Do I need a license to hunt truffles in Italy?

Yes, to dig truffles yourself you need a regional license, which in Le Marche requires an exam and an annual fee of 92.96 euros. Visitors do not need one to join a guided hunt, because the licensed hunter and his dog do the finding and the digging while you walk with them.

Do Italian truffle hunters use pigs or dogs?

Dogs. The Italian truffle law of 1985 requires the search to be carried out with a trained dog, which rules out pigs in practice. The most common breed is the Lagotto Romagnolo, although many hunters work with mixed breeds they have trained themselves.

Can I bring fresh truffles back to the United States?

Travelers regularly do, but I cannot promise you a rule. US customs requires you to declare all food and plant products, and soil is not allowed. Declare the truffles, make sure they are perfectly clean, and check the USDA APHIS database before you fly. Remember that a white truffle stays at its best for only a few days.

How do I get to Acqualagna from Bologna or Rome?

From Bologna it is about 200 kilometers, roughly two hours and 15 minutes by car via the Adriatic motorway to Fano and then inland. From Rome the drive is longer, through Umbria along the old Via Flaminia. Public transport is limited, so we always arrange a private driver for our guests.

Acqualagna will never have the fame of Alba, and I hope it never loses what that leaves room for: a market where you can still talk to the person who found the truffle that morning. If you come in the next few weeks, you will catch the fair. If you come later, the woods will still be there, and so will we.