A tuber, an underground mushroom... whatever its origins and its nature, the truffle is beyond doubt prized and delicious, so much so that in the past it was called “foodstuff of kings” and is now priced between 3 and 4 million per kilo depending on the piece.

But the truffle is not just pleasure for the palate, it has many virtues, particularly for a tired couple who need a natural aphrodisiac, wrote Brillat Savarin: «the truffle can make women softer and men gentler ».

If you are among estimators of this magical powered deliciousness, the city of San Miniato is your Eldorado. An ancient popular saying, which is still taught to children in the San Miniato countryside, says that between Doderi, Montoderi and Poggioderi (three locations of which trace remains in the medieval documents of the San Miniato archive) there is golden calf. It might be strange, but in that triangle in the Valdegola is the heart of the Truffle area to be found.

The white truffle can be found, just a few centimetres deep, in a limited number of areas preferred by nature for the particular, almost mysterious combination of forest fauna and geological substrata. This particular combination of circumstances has given San Miniato some primacies.

The biggest truffle ever found comes from there, a deeply scented tuber 2.520 grams heavy which was given in 1954, with great notice, to USA’s President Truman. But San Miniato also bears the primacy of quality, which is owed not just to the fertility of the woods, but also the accuracy and the deep respect for the environment with which the picking activity is carried out.

The truffle, despite it’s being known since Medieval times, for over 100 years it has become a business, there are many families in the area who work for its picking and trading and the expansion of this sector of business has brought, 25 years ago, to the creation of the Associazione Tartufai delle Colline samminiatesi, also relating to the importance the Fair exhibition has taken on, which for 30 years has been animating the village of San Miniato in the last three Sundays of November.

The truffle sellers association also deals with the promotion of the richness of San Miniato abroad. The Associazione Tartufai has its offices in San Miniato, in Piazza del Popolo, 20 - Tel. and fax 0571.42014.

San Miniato Municipality