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

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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

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

References

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  1. ^ a b "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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