Viganella

Viganella is a frazione of Borgomezzavalle, a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) northeast of Turin and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Verbania. It was a separate comune until 2016, when it was merged with Seppiana into the municipality of Borgomezzavalle.

Viganella in 2005.

Winter lighting

For its extreme landscape position, the town remains shadowed for 83 days per year, between November and January. A giant mirror was set up in November 2006 with controlled orientation above the mountainside, consisting of 14 sheets of steel which together are 8 metres (26 ft) wide and 5 metres (16 ft) high. The mirror functions as a heliostat, tracking the Sun so that sunlight always reflects onto the town square.[1][2] The mirror cost €100,000, or approximately €540 per resident.[1]

The town was featured in a 2009 Italian/Canadian film called Lo Specchio (The Mirror).

According to a former mayor: "The idea behind the project doesn't have a scientific basis, but a human one. It comes from a desire to let people socialise in winter when the town shuts down due to the cold and the dark."[3]

See also
  • Rjukan, a town in Norway also uses mirrors to illuminate the town.

References
  1. "Brilliant idea: mirror lights up village". The Times, UK. 12 November 2006.
  2. BBC picture
  3. Raffaelli, Giacomo (18 June 2021). "How the Town of Viganella Italy Used a Giant Mirror to Redirect Sunlight". www.vice.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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