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Discover the “Big Benches”
An itinerary that will take you to discover the fascinating, coloured “Big benches” scattered around the territory. Sitting on a big bench is a pleasant, social gesture, and making good use of all the positive energy emanating from them is the root of the BIG BENCH COMMUNITY PROJECT. The benches in the local around Acqui Terme may be found in:
Alice Bel Colle – panchina rosa / Località Fraschetta
Bistagno – panchina rossa / Strada Roncogennaro
Castel Boglione – panchina rossa e blu / in Vigna
Fontanile – panchina verde / Strada per Mombaruzzo
Merana – panchina viola / Torre di San Fermo
Montabone – panchina bianca e blu / Regione Cabonaldo
Ricaldone -panchina bordeaux e bianca / Strada per Maranzana
Strevi – panchina gialla / regione Bagnario
These are just eight of the numerous villages that host this masterpiece. The Giant Benches are often first seen in photographs, but once you sit on one of them you get the feeling of enjoying the view “as if you were a child again”. You experience an intense feeling to be shared with others. The benches are made to relax on and instead of an armchair it is large enough to share with one or more friends. The first Big Bench with this particular design was constructed in 2010 by Chris Bangle on the Borgata grounds in Clavesana, his residence and studio, as an installation looking out onto the panorama and accessible to visitors. The idea of giant benches is not new, but the context is. The change in perspective due to the size of the bench makes one feel like a child, able to be amazed by the beauty of the landscape seen through new eyes. The bench in less then a year became a local attraction for visitors to the area. Chris Bangle: «It is a great lesson in the use of contextual innovation. We are so obsessed by discovering new things that we often deny ourselves the interesting feeling of experiencing well known things but in a different context».
Find our more about the Big Bench Community project and the map with all the existing benches https://bigbenchcommunityproject.org/
Big Bench of Alice Bel Colle Big Bench of Strevi Big Bench of Bistagno
( Photo credits Comune Acqui) ( Photo credits Marenco Vini di Strevi) (Photo credits App Big Bench)
Big Bench of Montabone View from the Big Bench of Alice Bel Colle
(Photo credits IAT Acqui Terme ) ( Photo Credits Ufficio Turismo, Comune of Acqui )