The civic tower of Casale Monferrato is a brick construction with a square plan form. With its 60 meters of height the tower dominates the whole town and it is its most characteristic symbol. The lower side dates back to the original construction of the 11th century. It was built for defensive purposes later it became the symbol of civic power.
At the beginning of the 16th century the Paleologi family, Marquises of Monferrato, commissioned to the architect and sculptor Matteo Sanmicheli (Porlezza 1480-1528) a crowing element, which takes the form of a loggia. With a square plan form the loggia presents four mullioned windows, surmounted by another smaller loggia with an octagonal plan form.
On the top of the tower stands a colonnade and a small calotte, adorned with dolphins. Across the centuries the civic tower was modernized with painting plasters and decorative stucco. In 1920 there was a final restoration and so it has remained until today.
References:La Hougue Bie is a Neolithic ritual site which was in use around 3500 BC. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a \'mound\' and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. The site consists of 18.6m long passage chamber covered by a 12.2m high mound. The site was first excavated in 1925 by the Société Jersiaise. Fragments of twenty vase supports were found along with the scattered remains of at least eight individuals. Gravegoods, mostly pottery, were also present. At some time in the past, the site had evidently been entered and ransacked.
In Western Europe, it is one of the largest and best preserved passage graves and the most impressive and best preserved monument of Armorican Passage Grave group. Although they are termed \'passage graves\', they were ceremonial sites, whose function was more similar to churches or cathedrals, where burials were incidental.