November 25, 2008
White Truffles: Record-Breaking Tuber Found in Molise

The largest white truffle found this year in Italy doesn’t come from Alba (Piemonte), as one would expect, but from the small town of Spinete in the Campobasso province of Molise. Weighing at 2.42 lbs it is estimated to bring a starting bid of $65K at auction.

News of the lucky unearthing broke only a few weeks after another white truffle was found in the region, in the nearby town of Frosolone dug up by a young local truffle hunter, Leonardo Mainella, who reportedly made almost $20K for a 2.29 lbs exemplar estimated at $45K in private offers. Great news indeed, since both tubers will bring in record-breaking values that would redeem what was being considered by experts the worse truffle season in a decade.

This latest Molise specimen was purchased by a local dealer, who has remarkably decided to donate the tuber to charity turning it over to regional officials. As a result, the prized truffle will be sold this Saturday in an international auction taking place in Macao’s luxurious Grand Lisboa Hotel and Resort, owned by the city's casino mogul and billionaire Stanley Ho—who last December spent a record $330K in a similar charity auction for a 3.3 lbs Italian white truffle, the largest ever found in the world. Proceeds from this year’s auction will be donated to various international organizations, including the Macao local Caritas chapter, London’s Great Ormond Street Children Hospital and the Emirates Foundation.