The giant bench

Inspirations – Concept Village Piccola Gardiola

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In San Felice del Benaco, on the Brescia shore of beautiful Lake Garda, you can find a giant bench nearly two meters high in height and three and a half meters wide. From summer 2020, it will be placed inside the green park next to the Raffaele Cominelli Foundation building in Cisano di San Felice, in a panoramic position from which the Gulf of Salò, the Gardone Riviera, and the Upper Garda Pre-Alps will be seen.
Giant benches can already be found throughout Italy where there are about 90 of them, and they are popular with tourists who like to take selfies with them. In addition, a stamp has been made for each giant bench that can be put on a special passport-the goal is to fill the passport with all the stamps! The idea of building big benches and creating a kind of itinerary was born in 2010 by Chris Bangle, a well-known American designer, with the Big Bench Community Project (BBCP) and the installation of the first bench in Piedmont. The goal is to support local communities, tourism, and excellent craftsmanship in the countries where these off-scale installations are located. Since the bench is large, one has to climb up to sit and admire the scenery, just like children do. In fact, the purpose is precisely to get back to feeling like a child and to see the landscape with a new point of view. The project is mainly developed in Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto. In Verona there is a large bench at the top of Piccolo Stelvio, which is reached via a 2km slightly uphill path starting from the hamlet of Santa Maria di Stelle north of the Verona town.
Piccola Gardiola – Set off in search of giant benches by staying overnight in a corner of Paradise and privacy in San Felice del Benaco, in the Piccola Gardiola Concept Village. Here you can find accommodations with private hot tubs and pitches for campers and tents, all with pleasant views of Lake Garda and Rocca di Manerba.

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