The Governing Council of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO approved the proposal put forward by the National Federation of Truffle Associations back in 2020, after which a dossier was sent to the UNESCO Secretariat of Paris for evaluation.
The search for and collection of truffles is a complex practice, steeped in history, with special legislation in place to prevent damage to truffle beds.
Along with its anthropological and cultural significance, truffle hunting in Italy is estimated to be worth over half a billion euros.
The average price of white truffles has shot up to €450 per hundred grams at the Alba truffle exchange, which is the national reference point for truffle prices in Italy.
A long period of drought has slowed new truffle growth, resulting in the price hike.
Known as tartufai, the group of practitioners who cultivate and harvest truffles in Italy possess an intangible cultural heritage of knowledge that has been passed down as oral history for centuries.
The final decision is expected to be announced between December 13 and 18, concluding a candidacy process that began in March 2020.
