Viganella, a small village nestled in a valley on the Italian-Swiss border, faces a peculiar problem. Surrounded by mountains, the town is plunged into darkness for three months every year, from November to February.
This lack of sunlight has led to a dwindling population, with many residents seeking sunnier climes. In 1999, in an attempt to reverse this trend, then-mayor Franco Midali proposed a bold solution: a giant mirror to reflect sunlight down into the town square, according to Vice News.
Architect Giacomo Bonzani took on the challenge and, with the help of engineer Gianni Ferrari, designed an eight-metre-wide, five-metre-tall mirror. Installed in 2006, the mirror is programmed to track the sun's path, reflecting sunlight for six hours a day.
While not as strong as direct sunlight, the reflected light warms the square and provides much-needed natural light to homes. The mirror is only used during the winter months and remains covered for the rest of the year.
The project has not only brought practical benefits but also garnered international attention. Silvia Camporesi, a multimedia artist, visited Viganella in 2020 and documented the mirror.
"The idea behind the project doesn't have a scientific basis, but a human one," former mayor Midali said in a 2008 interview. "It comes from a desire to let people socialise in winter when the town shuts down due to the cold and the dark."
Viganella's success story has inspired similar projects elsewhere. In 2013, a similar mirror was installed in Rjukan, located in a valley in south-central Norway, after a group of engineers came to Viganella to study the mirror on site.
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