The truffle season is winding down, I realized this week when I read that there were only 4 kilograms/7 1/2 pounds brought to the Sarlat truffle market last Saturday. The supply is tapering off in the Périgord. So, I set my sights on other regions with more trufficulture – perhaps a longer season. Several years ago at the White Truffle Fair in Alba, northern Italy’s famed center of the delicate white truffle, I spoke with a truffle vendor from Norcia.  I was drawn to his table by earthy, distinctive aromas, and found he was the only one selling black truffles.  Well, Norcia in Umbria is the place to be during the last weekends of February. Anyone with a passion for the black diamonds will find Umbrian truffles worth the trip. In Norcia, the 46th Mostra mercato Internazionale del Tartufo Nero Pregiato fills the “City of Savors” with vendors the 20, 21, 22 February.  And we’re not limited to truffles – consider the succulent air-dried ham, famous lentils di Castelluccio, fresh trout from the Sordo river, and Umbrian woodland honey – regional products are in the spotlight. The following weekend more truffles and tastings are lined up, as well as concerts.  The last call for truffles could be a resounding trumpet voluntary on Norcia’s Piazza San Benedetto !

For details on the Nero Norcia Truffle Fair, visit:  www.umbriaonline.com or www.bellaumbria.net/Norcia – for dates as well as agroturismo/farms with rooms to rent in Umbria