In our home Poland, mushroom picking is practically a tradition – can you go shroom hunting in Italy too? Over 31% of Italy’s land is its beautiful forests and wooded hills, so there’s plenty of space to explore in that regard. But is it legal to pick mushrooms in Italian forests? Let’s explore that today.
A licence for mushroom foraging?
Yes, you can forage for wild mushrooms in Italian woods. It’s legal and completely fine as long as you’re picking mushrooms for private-use and non-commercial purposes. Also, you can’t forage mushrooms in protected areas, as, there, you’d need a licence. Licences tend to be required to protect certain areas or certain species from our harmful influence and it’s illegal to forage mushrooms in a protected area without one. As such, do make sure to check whether given forests in your area are under such rules. Also, if your chosen forest is a part of a private area, you’d need permission from the landowner.
Lastly, we have to remind you to be cautious about what mushrooms you’re picking. There are lots of poisonous mushrooms in Italy, just like everywhere else, so don’t pick stuff up if you don’t know what you’re doing.
What kinds of mushrooms are in the Italian forests?
What species of mushroom can you expect in Italy? They’re quite plentiful, ranging from porcini, boletes, chanterelles, parasol mushrooms or even the rarer Caesar’s mushroom.
We hope you give foraging in Italy a shot! It’s a fun way to re-experience some familiarity in an unfamiliar space.
Also, check out our must-try list of foods for Sicily, to see what you’ll be able to make from the mushrooms you’ve collected!
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