The square tower that Cuorgnè calls the clock tower dates from the fourteenth century and was built facing the nearby round tower: the two stood one opposite the other, and that is still how they should be looked at.
What to see
In 1400 the Valperga family sold it to the town council, and from then on it changed trade: first a watchtower, then a bell tower. Eighteenth-century alterations reworked the upper part, and that is the phase most legible from below, while the shaft keeps the older structure.
Visiting
It stands in the heart of the old centre and is looked at from outside, in a few minutes. The best way to see it is to walk around it looking for the round tower it was paired with: understanding the relationship between the two explains more than any description of either alone.
Our editors' tip
The passage from the noble family to the town council is the interesting part. A private tower that becomes public property and then a bell tower tells in three steps how power shifted in a Canavese town: first the defence of a house, then the watch of the community, finally the hours marked out for everyone.