The Lagotto Romagnolo is an ancient breed, with extremely similar curly coated water dogs being seen portrayed in hunting and fishing scenes in the Etruscan necropolis of Spina and described by Linneus, the great Swedish naturalist of the 18th century as being widespread in the Mediterranean Sea area, describing a dog that corresponded well with the appearance of today's Lagotto Romagnolo. Similar dogs have also been written of in books and poetry - by Erasmus in 1591 and by Eugenio Raimondi in 1630, among others. References such as these continue to crop up in literature from the 15th thru the 20th centuries.
Written evidence places the breed in the marshes of Romagna as early as 1600, with numerous references appearing in writings throughout the 19th century, which is also the time when mention begins to be made of the dogs' truffle finding abilities. Between 1840 and 1890, as the marshes were drained and reclaimed for farming, the Lagotto progressively lost its function as a water dog. At the same time it became more specialized as a truffle dog. In fact, during the period between the two World Wars, the Lagotto was the breed used by almost all truffle hunters.
