Mirror, Mirror On the Mountain

Residents in the Italian alpine village of Viganella solved an ancient problem with the help of a giant mirror. The small town’s unique valley location causes them to experience near darkness all winter long, with neighboring cliffs blocking the sun during daylight hours. The lack of both sun and warmth has long exacted a toll on daily life in the village; some have even abandoned the village completely for warmer abodes.

An innovative local, Pierfranco Midali, found a solution to this problem using a 8 x 5 meter mirror that reflects the sun back to the shivering village. The computer-aided mirror follows the sun and provides up to eight hours of sun a day.

"Here it's very cold in the winter and residents, many of whom are elderly, used to stay inside all the time. Now people are enjoying sitting on the bench in the square and having a chat," said Maria Velona, who works at the townhall.