Discover Torre Campanaria and Piazza Castello, La Morra

At the top of the village of La Morra, which stands at 513 metres, is Piazza Castello — the belvedere square, and the reason most people come up the hill.

The square offers a spectacular view over the surrounding villages and over the hills cultivated with vineyards. Those hills are the Langa of Barolo, one of the three components of the Langhe inscribed by UNESCO on 22 June 2014.

The torre campanaria of 1710 stands on it. It was built with the remains of the castle demolished in 1544 — the castle that gave the square its name and then stopped existing.

Two monuments stand a few steps from the tower. One is the bronze Vignaiolo d'Italia by Antonio Munciguerra, 1972 — which was stolen in December 2018, during works to resurface the square in front. The other is the marble bust of Giuseppe Gabetti, the 19th-century composer of the Marcia reale, Italy's first anthem, sculpted by Giuseppe Realini.

The square is closed on one side by the elementary school building of 1914.

The torre campanaria is an early-18th-century bell tower, and the interesting thing about it is not its style but its material.

It was raised in 1710 out of the remains of the castle demolished in 1544. That is a reuse of stone across a century and a half, on the same site, and it is the normal economy of a hill village: a demolished fortress is a quarry that has already been cut.

Its siting is doing two jobs. A bell tower needs height and carrying sound; a belvedere needs the end of the ridge. Piazza Castello is both, which is why the castle was there first.

The square as it now reads is an assembly of dates rather than a design: a 1710 tower, an 1914 school closing one flank, a 1972 bronze (now absent), and a bust by Giuseppe Realini. Nothing here was composed as a single scheme. What unifies it is the drop on the open side.

The sequence is unusually literal: one building was taken apart and another was made from it, in the same place.

Step one, 1544. The castle was pulled down. Its material stayed on the hilltop.

Step two, 1710. The torre campanaria was constructed with those remains. No separate quarry, no imported stone — the record is explicit that the tower is made coi resti del castello.

Step three, the name. The square was not renamed for the tower. It is still Piazza Castello, so the tower stands on a square named after the building it is made of.

Step four, the furniture. The school of 1914 enclosed one side; the bronze Vignaiolo d'Italia of 1972 and the bust of Giuseppe Gabetti were placed near the tower. The works that relaid the square in December 2018 are when the bronze was taken.

Why is it called Piazza Castello when there is no castle? Because there was one. It was demolished in 1544, and the square kept its name.

What is the tower made of? The castle. The torre campanaria of 1710 was built with the remains of the castle demolished in 1544.

Can I climb the tower? Nothing in the record describes it as open or climbable, and the comune publishes no access terms. Assume not unless told otherwise locally.

What is the empty plinth? It held the bronze Vignaiolo d'Italia by Antonio Munciguerra, 1972, stolen in December 2018 during works to redo the square.

Who is the bust of? Giuseppe Gabetti, the 19th-century composer of the Marcia reale, the first anthem of Italy. It is by Giuseppe Realini.

How high is it? The village of La Morra stands at 513 metres. No separate elevation is published for the square itself, which is at the top of the village.

Is there an entry charge? No. It is a public square.