Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo di Moncalvo
Moncalvo fills Piazza Carlo Alberto with white truffles for its national fair, one of Piedmont's historic truffle fairs: a truffle competition and a market of truffles, typical Monferrato products and food, with truffle hunts, guided hill walks and open churches on the side.
Why it's special
Hilltop Moncalvo is a Monferrato white-truffle name in its own right, alongside Alba, and this is one of Piedmont's historic national fairs — market and cultural tourism in the same weekend.
Programme · 2026
72nd edition, over three days. Market of truffles, wines, salumi, cheeses, honey, mushrooms and local crafts in Piazza Carlo Alberto and under the Antichi Portici, all under cover. Food area "Trifola e Bicer, dal bosco alla tavola" in Piazza Antico Castello from 11:00 each day; free parking and shuttle buses from the edge of town.
- It all centres on Piazza Carlo Alberto and the Antichi Portici, with the food area in Piazza Antico Castello from 11:00.
- Park free at the edge of town (Cantina Sette Colli on Strada Casale, the Umberto Micco sports ground in Via Goria, or the station car park) and take the free shuttle in.
- The stalls are under cover, so it runs in any weather.
- Guided truffle hunts and hill walks need booking.
- Details at fieradeltartufodimoncalvo.it.
Alba gets the headlines, but Moncalvo has poured white truffles into Piazza Carlo Alberto for over seventy years, and its national fair is one of Piedmont's historic ones. For three days in late October — the last two Sundays and the Saturday between — the arcaded square fills with truffle traders and stalls of typical Monferrato products, and the whole hilltop turns to the season's smell.
It's a market first, with the old competition at its heart: on each Sunday morning trifolau and traders bring their best truffles to a jury under the porticoes, and the winners take the Tartufo d'Oro and the Zappino d'Argento. Around that the town adds guided truffle hunts and walks out into the hills, open churches with their Caccia altarpieces, show cooking by local chefs and street bands in the afternoon. Pair it with the Fiera del Bue Grasso in December and you have Moncalvo's two great food seasons.
The year's dates and programme are on the official fair site — this year's are above.
More events in Monferrato in October 2026 →
Featured in our guides
Past editions
| Year | Dates | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 18, 24–25 October 2026 | 72nd edition, over three days. Market of truffles, wines, salumi, cheeses, honey, mushrooms and local crafts in Piazza Carlo Alberto and under the Antichi Portici, all under cover. Food area "Trifola e Bicer, dal bosco alla tavola" in Piazza Antico Castello from 11:00 each day; free parking and shuttle buses from the edge of town. Sat 17 Oct, 21:00 – preview at the Teatro Civico: "La stagion dij garòfo", Compagnia Incontri, part of the Piedmontese-language theatre season Sun 18 Oct, 9:00 – market opens; 9:30–11:30 entries for the truffle competition (single truffle, trifolao groups, traders' groups) Sun 18 Oct, 11:00 – country-dance show by the Hobby Dance Center school of Castagnone Sun 18 Oct, 12:00 – awards and the Città di Moncalvo "Tartufo d'Oro" trophy Sun 18 Oct, 14:30 – show cooking with chef Emanuele Anastasi (I Cedri di Villa Pattono): cardoon, cauliflower, black garlic and hazelnut with white truffle Sun 18 Oct, from 15:30 – street music with I Marciapé Street Band Sat 24 Oct – "Una festa prima della festa": food and wine market from 10:00 in the squares and under the porticoes; live music with the BSIDE Party Band from 16:00 Sun 25 Oct, 9:00 – market opens; 9:30–11:30 truffle competition entries Sun 25 Oct, 12:00 – awards and the "Zappino d'Argento" trophy Sun 25 Oct, 14:30 – show cooking with Gabriele Boffa, two Michelin stars, Locanda Enrico Bartolini at Relais Sant'Uffizio: tartrà with parmesan sauce, marinated yolk and vinegar, with white truffle Sun 25 Oct, from 15:30 – street music with the La Curva street band Both weekends – guided white-truffle hunts with the Associazione Tartufai delle Terre Aleramiche, hill walks with guide Luca Manzan (minimum 7 people, book ahead), open churches with paintings by Caccia (San Francesco, Sant'Antonio, the Madre Teresa di Calcutta sanctuary), visits to the Mazzetti d'Altavilla distillery, and the "Monferrato Immersive" VR drone station in Piazza Carlo Alberto |
| 2025 | 19, 25–26 October 2025 | Truffle market, typical products and food guided hill walks guided tours of churches and the Civic Museum. |