La Morra Culture

The Cappella del Barolo

This is La Morra's contribution to the culture of the Langhe and it is an unusual one. The building was put up in 1914 by farm workers who needed somewhere to shelter from storms while working the vineyards around Brunate. It was called the cappella di Santissima Madonna delle Grazie and it was never consecrated — so it has always been a shed with a religious name rather than a church.

The Ceretto family, wine producers, bought it with the surrounding land in 1970, and after years of neglect handed it in 1999 to two artists. Sol LeWitt — the American conceptualist — took the exterior; David Tremlett repainted the entire interior. The result is a pattern of curved and geometric lines in several colour schemes, bold enough to be identified from across the valley.

What makes it worth thinking about is the combination: a disused agricultural building in a UNESCO vineyard landscape, owned by a wine family, turned into a work by two internationally significant artists, and now a regional landmark. It is contemporary art commissioned by agriculture, which is not a common arrangement.

The Cantina Comunale

A communal cellar in which the village's producers pour side by side. This is a cultural institution as much as a commercial one: it means a visitor can compare the work of neighbours who farm adjacent slopes, and it means the village captures some value from its own view. Start here.

The wine, and the law behind it

Part of La Morra lies in the Barolo appellation: 100% Nebbiolo, at least 36 months of ageing with at least 18 in wood, DOC in 1966 and DOCG in 1980. La Morra's slopes produce a recognisably different style from Serralunga's across the valley, from the same grape — which is the whole subject of conversation in these hills.

And the older law: it was illegal here to cut down a Nebbiolo vine, with severe penalties. A village that protects a grape by statute has a particular culture, and it is still visible.

The table

Tajarin, brasato al Barolo, vitello tonnato, the mountain cheeses, hazelnut desserts. Rich food built to stand up to a tannic wine.

Verified against Wikipedia, October 2026.

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Checked against Wikipedia — The chapel at Brunate was built in 1914 by farm workers as a temporary shelter from storms while working the surrounding vineyards, was originally called the cappella di Santissima Madonna delle Grazie, and was never consecrated., The Ceretto family bought the chapel together with the surrounding land in 1970., The chapel was restored in 1999 by Sol LeWitt, who took the exterior, and David Tremlett, who repainted the whole interior, in curved and geometric patterns across several colour schemes., It was historically illegal in La Morra to cut down a Nebbiolo vine, with severe penalties., Barolo must be 100% Nebbiolo and aged at least 36 months after the harvest before release, of which at least 18 months in wood; five years makes it a Riserva., Barolo became a DOC in 1966 and was raised to DOCG in 1980., The Langhe were inscribed by UNESCO on 22 June 2014 within the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, as three components -- the Langa of Barolo, Grinzane Cavour Castle, and the Hills of Barbaresco. (October 2026).