Clock Tower and Almond Tree Court

Indirizzo e contatti

Via Torre, 1 - 42014 Castellarano (RE)

Cenni storici

At the foot of the tower passed the pilgrims on their way to Rome, on a journey of a thousand unknowns but with strong existential connotations, and the merchants coming from Tuscany and usually headed to Ferrara.

It was also possible to control an activity that seems strange to us: navigation. In fact the Secchia river was often navigable by boats, similar to barges, which were exploited for the transport of goods, so much so that at the beginning of the XIV century the Municipality of Modena decided that the timber, sent to the town from the mountain, was transported on boat from Sassuolo downstream, to safeguard the bridges, put at risk by the transit of heavy goods. There was also a system of ferries connecting Castellarano to San Michele, which then belonged to the jurisdiction of Castellarano.

This activity was supposed to be very important as there is via Barcaroli in the town centre, probably the seat of families dedicated to this activity.

In the late XVII century the Tower hosted the prisons and a room for the caretaker on the ground floor. The element that characterizes the tower is the clock with single-hand dials placed on four sides and corresponding to the four cardinal points. The clock mechanism is regulated by a weight system that is still now perfectly functional, even if it dates back to the early XVII century.