I Bastioni di La Morra

Curving around the summit where La Morra's castle once stood, the Bastioni are what remains of the medieval walls that enclosed the village. Partly rebuilt in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, they form a stone-and-brick wall above the vineyards, with the historic gates of the Borghetto and Cittadella marking the former entrances to the village.

Why it matters

The castle that dominated this summit, one of the Langhe's strategic positions, was demolished in the sixteenth century, and its surrounding wall system decayed with it. Sections of the rampart were partly rebuilt in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The bastions preserve the medieval town's defensive perimeter and reflect its geology: the tallest surviving section, the Bastione del Ciaplass, takes its name from a boulder protruding from the rock.

What to notice

The ramparts combine stone and brick, with sections reflecting medieval construction and later rebuilding. The two historic entrances are the lower gate of the Borghetto and the upper gate of the Cittadella; their ramps retain paving made from Tanaro River pebbles. The Bastione del Ciaplass, the highest surviving stretch, takes its name from the boulder at its base. The walls overlook the vineyards below.

Context and history

La Morra's documented story follows the pattern of Langhe hilltop settlements: a fortified castle and walled village controlling the surrounding country, then a change of fortune. The commune's heritage sheet records that the castle was demolished in the sixteenth century, after which the walls lost their military purpose. Over the following centuries the structures decayed until the town itself, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, rebuilt portions of the ramparts as a civic monument rather than a defence, consolidating the perimeter that today frames the belvedere. The two gate ramps were maintained with their distinctive Tanaro pebble paving, keeping the medieval entrances legible. The surviving walls preserve the memory of destruction, reconstruction and continuity in the village's urban form.