Late autumn in the United States sends a wake-up call to intrepid hunters to get up at the crack of dawn, pack their shotguns or rifles and prowl designated fields and woods in search of deer, ducks and other game.

In Italy at that time of year, a different breed of hunter sets forth. He’s unarmed, guided by moonlight instead of sunlight, and tracks down what biologists call tuber magnatum, otherwise known as the white truffle. His favorite hunting grounds is the northern Piedmont region.