The 23 meter high tower is the emerging and best preserved part of a real castle built towards the end of the 12th century and starting from the first half of the 1200 emblem of freedom and pride of the small independent fiefdom known as University of the Riviera of S. Giulio .

The statutes of this small "Guelph Republic", governed by the bishop of Novara, left ample autonomy to the inhabitants, but they also imposed obligations. Among these one of the most heartfelt was to gather in arms at the sound of the bell of the tower to counteract any invaders. The last bell of the tower, cast in 1610 in Bolzano Novarese by a certain Pietro Bonavila, was removed about sixty years ago and kept for a long time at the Villa Comunale of Orta.

In November 2004, after a long restoration, the bell returned to its original location on the top of the hill.

The tower with a square base of 7.60 meters on each side, had an access door located 6 meters high. Access was possible thanks to an escalator, which could be withdrawn if the attackers had managed to overcome the curtain wall. This, originally equipped with battlements, loopholes and walkway, closed two internal courtyards, of different heights, which could only be accessed through a large walled square that still at the end of the seventeenth century could contain six hundred men lined up. The tower was internally divided into three decks; the lower floor served as a warehouse for food and water in the event of a siege. From the highest floor the entrance defense was carried out by throwing stones and stones through a plummet. The tower has been part of the protected area of Monte Mesma and Colle della Torre di Buccione since 1993.