Nicola was born in Savelli di Norcia and has always loved nature and the special products of our area. In fact, one of his mottos is ‘Nature offers and I appreciate it’ and this turns into a love for the treasures of our forests that has always prompted him to go for walks in search of mushrooms, blackberries, raspberries and other kinds of wild produce. ‘I like preparing special things like ivy and wildflower honey, or blackberry, raspberry and quince jams for dinners with my family and friends. However, black truffle is my true passion.’ Most of the credit that goes to the ‘cavatore’ (truffle hunter) is due to dog training. There is no specific breed for this job, and often the best dogs are mixed breeds, small in size but strong and agile as there is a lot of walking involved. The training begins when they are puppies. As the instinct of dogs is to hunt, it is important to see if there is a ‘champion’ among the litter of puppies. To begin with, it is enough for the dog to show an interest for truffle, which can be demonstrated by the sense of smell and developed through play for about one month. Then one can continue developing the dog’s skills by hiding the tuber on the surface – behind a stone, for example – or just below ground level, still making the training feel like a game and rewarding the dog for every success. This phase should last for another 4 months. From the fifth month the trainer should start hiding the truffle a little deeper underground so that the dog develops the habit to dig independently, but rewarding the dog still maintains its importance. When positive results start showing the training can move to the woods where it gets harder. The sense of smell is trained much more in this phase as searching without the help from the master is developed. The smells, furthermore, are those of nature and of the wildlife that passes by in search of truffles (foxes, porcupines, boars, etc.), and that make the dog’s hunting instincts prevail. This stage is certainly the most difficult and complicated but it is the phase where the dog’s true character comes out, whether