When Giancarlo Zigante found a truffle weighing 1.3 kilograms in the Motovun forests in the northwest of the Istrian peninsula in 1999, it was the starting shot for an unprecedented career.
Today the Croatian is the uncrowned truffle king of Istria and master of a whole empire of delicatessens.

From mid-May to the end of October, the entrepreneur invites visitors to the Truffle Days in Livade on seven weekends - and hundreds of visitors from all over the world follow his call.
The rich programme includes a truffle fair and an international trade show for wine and other local products.

Visitors can taste Istrian ham, cheese, honey and olive oil. Or let top chefs introduce you to the secrets of cooking with truffles.
A train takes the guests to the forest where a licensed truffle hunter shows them how to get the precious tuber from the forest floor with the help of trained dogs.

But it is not only in Livade that the tasty mushroom is celebrated. Truffle days also take place in neighbouring Oprtalj at the end of October - with wine tastings and a selection of the most beautiful truffles of the season.
Motovun hosts the Teran and Truffle Festival, while Momjan - at the beginning of November - proclaims the Days of Muscat and Truffle.