Italian village gets its place in the sun

Viganella, with a population of less than 200, lies in a valley so steep that each year from November 11 to February 2 it hardly receives any sunshine. The 197 inhabitants were plunged into a near darkness and just waited for the 84 days to pass so that they can once again feel the heat of the sun.

The problem

The mountains are so steep that on November 11th, the angle of the sun is low enough that Viganella ends up in the shade for the rest of the winter. Each year for 84 days in a row the sun would not shine in the town as it went behind the 1,600-Meter high mountain that covered it.

The solution

That was until Mayor Pierfranco Midali decided to do something about it. He promised to bring sunshine to the small town with a plan that seems to be the reverse of Mr. Burns’ failed plot to deny Springfield sun. He have just installed a 8-meter wide and 5-meter tall mirror on a mountain so that it can reflect the sun’s light on to the town for approximately 8 hours every day.

The mirror is controlled by a powerful computer that makes the mirror rotate according to the position of the sun.

The inhabitants of the town have now begun to smile and have prepared a huge celebration party to celebrate the first winter sun in the 800 years of the existence of the town.

Source: Yahoo! News