The first large bench was built in the village of Clavesana in the province of Cuneo, where Chris Bangle lives with his family, in 2010. Within a short time it became one of the most important attractions in the area and within ten years a national phenomenon that even crosses the Italian border. Today there are more than 307 giant benches and more than 46 more under construction. Most of them are in Piedmont, many in Lombardy, others are in Valle d'Aosta, Liguria, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Molise and Puglia.
Installations outside the classical scale have changed the view of the landscape. They move visitors from all over Italy and Europe, bringing them not only to beautiful places but also back to their childhood. You'll feel like a little kid again as you sit down on the giant bench and start swinging your legs in the air.
It's easy to spot the giant benches in Italy: they are colourful and their colours are reminiscent of the peculiarities of the surrounding landscape (purple - lavender, yellow - sunflowers, brown - hazelnuts, red - wine, etc.), are numbered, located in picturesque places and set on land accessible to all.
A map of each site can be found on the official project website: https://bigbenchcommunityproject.org/