"Mountains, hills, plains, as far as your eyes can see from this imposing and beautiful tower and its mechanism that you can visit for 3 €.
The whole of Mondovì, and beyond within sight. From the Ligurian Alps to Monviso, from the Piedmont plain to the first slopes of the Langhe, from the city to the countryside.

The sense of vertigo, in being immersed in such a varied, vast, evocative panorama. From the “dei Bressani” Tower you can dominate everything, from the cell just below the bells that, every day, mark the hours of the people of Mondovì and, every evening, remember the fallen of the war, at sunset.

Bells that have marked centuries of history of Mondovì and continue to do their work, eternal witnesses of this story that has continued since 1198, when a group of exiles from the nearby city of Vicoforte climbed the hill, then called “Monte di Vico” to found the first nucleus of the new city.

An ambitious project, inspired by the desire for freedom, to escape the dominion of the Bishop of Asti. The bell tower, called “Dei Bressani” which has become a bit of a symbol of the city of Mondovì, which characterizes the city in an unmistakable way, emerging from the top of the hill of Piazza like a sentinel, dates back to the 13th-14th century.

Originally it was the bell tower of the Church of Sant’Andrea, which stood here and which is no longer there today. From the 29.10 meters of this tower for centuries the people of Mondovì have watched over the horizon, and Giovanni Battista Beccaria used it, in 1762, for his experiments. It was the trigonometric point that he used to determine the meridian arc passing through Piedmont.

In memory of this great physicist, little known to the general public but an important name for the entire scientific community, there is a monument dedicated to him in the nearby Piazzetta dei Licei, with a small museum hosted by the headquarters of the Classical High School, at the ancient convent of Nostra Donna in Piazza IV Novembre.

Also in his memory, and to enhance the great gnomonic tradition that characterizes the city (there are more than forty in the five Monregalese districts), in the gardens that rise at the foot of the tower (with benches, a fountain and a children's play area) a small "time park" has been set up with various examples of sundials and illustrated panels to delve deeper into the theme.

It should not be forgotten, however, that the visit to the tower itself, with the mechanisms of its large clock, is a small piece of this journey dedicated to time. The gardens were built at the beginning of the twentieth century, on the occasion of a Universal Exhibition, and are a usual meeting and leisure point for families, children and elderly people walking."

Enjoy life

"Very welcoming and friendly guide. For €3 you can climb up the tower and admire the fully functional clock’s mechanism from 1859."

Patrick Schnell

"Quiet and cozy spot with a magnificent view in 3 directions of the lands surrounding Mondovì."

Dan Olsson