After the great summit at ValdericArte by the Associazione Paleo Italia the day before I was looking forward to this ‘sagra’. A sagra is the Italian word for food festival and we have a lot here in Italy. Nearly the whole year long but particularly in the fall time. And this part of Italy is famous for its truffles. So I was curious about the Mostra Tartufo which is held until the 2nd November at Sant’Angelo in Vado near Urbino.
No, not the truffle made of chocolate and not Truffle from Peanuts but the one dogs and pigs are going to sniffle in the woods. Yes, I was at a festival were a lot of people got sniffing!
Sant’Angelo in Vado and the upper Le Marche region in the hinterland is famous for truffles. Especially white truffles. A truffle is a fungus, an ascomycete fungus, growing under certain trees in the ground and near to the roots of the tree.
This fungus’ fruiting body is highly priced and held in high esteem in many cuisines. I know the white and the black truffle but there are as well others like the summer truffle. Historically they are known and eaten for more than 4.000 years! In the middle age they were nearly forgotten and during renaissance they regained popularity.
Normally they are found in the wild but there are already countries with a kind of truffle farms, France, Sweden and others.
Truffles are grated and sprinkled on pasta or rice dishes for example. Use it over fried eggs or salads as I do it sometimes. If sliced they are great with meat as a filling (with something else!) and sometimes you can find truffle cheese. I personally use often truffle oil (olive oil extra vergine with pieces of truffles). I still have to try truffle honey, I didn’t it see at the festival unfortunately. Has someone ever tried truffle vodka?
Anyway at the festival I found only a few stands with truffles. Around 20 € per kilo and every stand was breathtaking as getting nearly ‘drunk’ by inhaling all the truffle scents.
The festival has a lot more to offer than ‘only’ gourmet stands. For example the artistic road. In the historic center – where the festival is held – there is the main road for art and handcrafts. A lot of nice paintings, many painters sitting and creating the most amazing pictures…
I loved also the part where children could play with colors and do their own paintings. They looked like real ‘adult’ painters in front of their easel and running to get the right paint color. Later the paintings were exposed at the back of the stand.
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But I think the most spectacular ‘stand’ was the grotto. Yes, a grotto in between two houses and where some people from the past were very active. People from the paleolithic period. Our little group with Matteo and Cecilia (Utonto and his wife) were demonstrating a few things they do in their paleo life. Like how to get on a fire. Or to built a spear, doing paintings with different colored clay or forming nice figures with it.
Nearly the whole time there were huge crowds around them, everyone – children and adults, young and elder people – tried to see as much as possible. I could see their eyes opening and rounding, not believing in what they saw just in the middle of a street in today modern life. They were like hypnotized. And I saw many of them returning later in the afternoon to have another glimpse on these ‘strangers’.
The day concluded with an award in an old palazzo just opposite the paleo grotto.
For me it was an intense day as I first didn’t want to stay the whole day. But there was so much to see, so much to discover and so yummy foods to buy. I found one with lean salami sausages and great honey, I had my first chestnuts (I love them!) and had interesting talks about truffles.
If you are in Italy and around the area: don’t miss the Mostra del Tartufo at Sant’Angelo in Vado near to Urbania (from Urbino taking the road to Borgo Pace or San Sepolcro in Umbria). The festival will be there until 2nd November and on the last Saturday, 1st November, there will be again the paleolithic grotto! You MUST go there!!! Let me know if you do…
Sant’Angelo in Vado, Le Marche/Italy:
For further information:
51st Festival of Truffles Sant’Angelo in Vado