White Truffle Fair in the Crete Senesi 2026: San Giovanni d’Asso Dates

The White Truffle Market of the Crete Senesi returns to San Giovanni d’Asso on 7, 8, 14 and 15 November 2026, for its fortieth edition. Two weekends in this hill village south of Siena, with stalls of fresh white truffle, tastings and shops open along the streets.

When is the 2026 white truffle fair?

The confirmed dates are Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, then Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November 2026, as listed on the event’s official website. This is the fortieth edition, run by the Associazione Tartufai Senesi (the Sienese Truffle Hunters’ Association), founded in 1985 to showcase the white truffle gathered in the woods of the Crete Senesi, the clay hills south of Siena (source: Montalcino News).

Stalls are open on both weekends from 10am to 8pm, according to the schedule published by the organisers. The detailed programme, with side events, dinners and tastings, usually comes out in the weeks right before the fair on the official site.

Where is San Giovanni d’Asso and how do you get there from Siena?

San Giovanni d’Asso is a village in the Crete Senesi, within the municipality of Montalcino, about 40 kilometres from Siena (source: Wikipedia). By car, you head south on the Cassia road, with two options: the direct route towards Buonconvento, or the more scenic one through Asciano and the Monte Oliveto Maggiore Abbey, past the ploughed clay fields that have already turned autumn colours by November.

The village has no railway station of its own: the closest is at Asciano, about ten kilometres away. If you’re staying in the area, a car is the easiest way to get between San Giovanni d’Asso and Siena.

What happens at the truffle market?

The streets of the old centre fill with stalls run by local truffle hunters (tartufai), selling fresh white truffle alongside truffle-based products: oil, pasta, cheese and sauces. You can watch truffle-dog search demonstrations, visit cellars opened for the occasion, and stop at food stands set up around the village for a plate with truffle grated straight onto it.

The village also has a Truffle Museum inside the castle that overlooks it, telling the story, biology and harvesting methods behind the Crete Senesi white truffle; it’s open on the fair days too. Arriving in the morning, close to opening, means fewer crowds at the stalls and truffle that truffle hunters have only just brought in, which also makes it easier to ask questions about where it’s from before you buy.

How much does white truffle cost and how do you buy it?

White truffle is sold by weight, by the gram or by the hundred grams, and the price changes every year depending on how much was found: the organisers don’t publish a fixed price list, so it’s worth asking at the stalls on the day. The Associazione Tartufai Senesi, which has run the fair since 1985, brings together accredited local truffle hunters, which gives some assurance about where the product comes from. Once bought, fresh truffle should be eaten within a few days; if you’re travelling further afield, the stallholders can tell you how to keep it in the meantime.

November in the Crete Senesi can be cold and damp in the morning, so layers and comfortable shoes are worth packing for the village’s stone streets.

Where should you stay to visit the Crete Senesi truffle fair?

Villa L’Avvenire is in Siena, at via Quinto Settano 2, about 15 minutes from Piazza del Campo (the shell-shaped square where the Palio horse race is run), which makes it a convenient base for driving out to San Giovanni d’Asso in the morning and coming back in the evening. The villa has a private 9,500 square metre park with a seasonal pool, eleven rooms and suites with air conditioning and free Wi-Fi, and forty free parking spaces inside the grounds, no booking needed.

The villa’s restaurant serves dinner from 7pm to 10pm, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays: a good way to end a day spent among the truffle stalls, with a table bookable at hotelvillalavvenire.it/book-a-table-en. The rooms and suites range from 21 square metres up to the 180 square metre Imperial Suite, and the villa welcomes adults only.

What else is there to see around San Giovanni d’Asso?

Besides the Truffle Museum in the castle, the village itself takes a couple of hours to see, between its Romanesque church and the streets that look out over the Crete. If you have a car, it’s worth extending the trip to Buonconvento, whose medieval centre is still enclosed within its walls, or to the Monte Oliveto Maggiore Abbey, both on the way back towards Siena.

November is also olive harvest month across Tuscany, and it isn’t unusual to see local oil mills at work on the fair days themselves, worth a stop along the way if a farm happens to have its doors open to visitors.

For directions from Florence or the motorway, the hotelvillalavvenire.it/how-to-reach-us-en page lists the main routes to the villa.