HISTORY

Symbol of the town, the Tower stands imposing with its 30 meters high, dominating the Tanaro valley, the natural border between the hills of the Langa and those of the Roero. With a square base it is made of brick and stands on a sandstone base. At the top there are still the remains of the battlements that formed a crown at the time of its construction. Inside there are two rooms covered by a barrel vault, which have already been restored in the past. The tower is half filled with earth and in the past the entrance was reached via a ladder on the side of the Tanaro river.
The first document attesting the presence of a tower in Barbaresco dates back to the end of the 11th century, in reference to a wall fortification aimed at delimiting the shelter including the “castle and tower”. The strategic position of Barbaresco was considered so important by the newborn Municipality of Alba that the village was included in its territorial boundaries.
The arrival of the Visconti family in the 14th century. marks a turning point: their restoration of the Tower involves the demolition of the upper part of the tower (the bricks of which will be used for the new Tower), as well as the dismantling of the original shelter and the excavation of about four meters of hill. The old tower is therefore incorporated into the new one, constituting its “soul” (up to 13-15 meters). The construction of anti-mine walls, the reuse of the previous material and the creation of a large space, such as to house a garrison for the new military needs, are connotations that place the construction of the new tower not before the mid-fourteenth century.

In the second half of 1300, after the Angevin dominion, the Visconti of Milan and the Marquises of Monferrato alternate, until the passage of a large part of Piedmont to the Savoy family in 1631 (peace of Cherasco). In this context, the Tower of Barbaresco can be placed in the Visconti period, falling within the defense plan that the Visconti implemented to defend their borders: the plan included, in addition to the tower, the Castle of Cherasco, the arrangement of that of Pollenzo and the modifications to the Tower of S. Vittoria.
It is likely that it was not built only by local workers and technicians, by virtue of the regularity and perfection of the building, which suggests the high professionalism of the builders. In the following centuries, under the dominion of the Gonzagas, the Tower continues to remain part of the Barbaresco fortification, even if more detailed information is not available.
Between ‘800 and’ 900 the Tower passed from hand to hand to various local families: Galleani, Rocca, Cavazza, Stupino and Giacosa. The post-Napoleonic period is also referred to for an ominous legend linked to the Tower. It seems that to celebrate the Restoration and the return of the Savoy, on the occasion of the stop of Vittorio Emanuele I (in Govone) a fire was lit right on top of the Tower. Unfortunately the fire stuck to the wooden roof destroying it irreparably. Since then, the Tower has been left uncovered and this, together with the general abandonment of the monument, has caused significant damage. In a state of total abandonment (a cherry tree was born inside, whose foliage protruded from the top, clearly visible from the town), the Tower was sold in 1982 to the Municipality of Barbaresco.
From here, a long and laborious restoration has brought the building back to its former glory, available to all visitors who can access it from July 2015.