Discovering the giant benches

Are you familiar with giant benches? Many of you will surely have scouted out some of the most famous and colorful benches ever scattered around Langhe, Roero and Monferrato (but not only) and we know you didn’t miss the opportunity to take a selfie in the most diverse poses! For all those who want to learn more or find out what it is all about…you are in the right place.

We at Vespa Tours are passionate about nature, colors and roads that can be traveled together with our friend Vespa. So we thought we would point out some of the most beautiful benches scattered around Piedmont. And hear hear, just today, Saturday, August 1, ten years after the first installation, giant bench number 100 will be inaugurated in Montelupo Albese, Langhe! Giant Benches: Chris Bangle’s dream come true

The first Great Bench was made in 2010 by Chris Bangle. Born in 1956 in Ravenna, a town located in the United States, after attending the University of Wisconsin and graduating from the Art Center College of Design in California, he began his career at Opel in 1981.

In 1985 he moved to Fiat where he designed the Fiat Coupé. Seven years later, he was appointed Director of Design at BMW in 1992. After leaving the German house in 2009, he moved to Clavesana, in the province of Cuneo, where he founded Chris Bangle Associates, together with his wife Catherine.

His idea was to create an installation facing the landscape and accessible to visitors. Although the idea of out-of-scale benches is not novel, the context certainly is. The change in perspective given by the size of the bench makes those who sit there feel like children, able to marvel at the beauty of the landscape with a new look. In just over a year, the bench has become an attraction for visitors to the area, a way to experience well-known things but in a different context.

From that first Chris Bangle bench was born the
Big Bench Community Project,
a nonprofit initiative designed to support the land, tourism and excellence of the communities where these installations are located.

Over the past few years, other official benches have also been built outside the Piedmont; Chris Bangle provided free designs and directions to the bench builders, asking as the only condition that they be placed in a scenic spot, on publicly accessible land without becoming private installations, to maintain the spirit of a collective experience.

The passport forgiant benchesDid you know there is a passport for giant benches? Yes, you read that correctly. It’s a way to make visiting the benches even more fun: you can collect stamps of each bench in your BBCP passport (a passport-shaped booklet!), and each stamp bears the Great Benches logo and the name of the country in which they are located.

To find out where to find it and collect stamps, just look for the signs posted near each Big Bench! They are not always located near the bench, so we recommend that you check the official Big Bench Community Project website for the list of participating businesses, as it is the only one that is always up-to-date.Looking for the Giant Benches: some suggested routes

Where to start? There are so many trails and benches to visit and we are spoiled for choice! If you are in the Monforte d’Alba area, you cannot miss as many as two colorful benches, a purple one in the heart of the village and a pink one at Cascina Castelletto.

Next you can head to Monchiero where you will find a white bench in Monchiero Alto, continue to Piozzo, where a beautiful orange bench awaits near the Albarosae chapel, and head to Carrù. Next to the giant yellow bench located in the town’s main square, you will find other tiny ones that especially make little ones fall in love.

Your visit can continue toward Clavesana and Dogliani. In Clavesana, don’t miss the three benches: the red one, considered “official” i.e., the first one built by Chris, the blue one, in Frazione Lo Sbaranzo, and the yellow one, in Borgata Palazzetto. Near Dogliani Castle instead you will find two benches, one blue and one red.

In Alba you will find the turquoise one in Scaparone, and then you can climb to the gray bench in Vezza d’Alba, which is reached by a short walk through the vineyards. Don’t forget thegiant green bench inNeive, past Borgata Gavello, in the direction of Tre Stelle.

The visit to the benches could go on for days!

For another Langhe itinerary we recommend the search for the giant benches in Niella Belbo, it is blue and is located on the Esplanade of Love, the one in Paroldo, which is located in the Pedaggera locality, is orange and has the particularity of being accessible and for this reason is called the “Great Bench for All,” and the yellow one in Santo Stefano Belbo.

If you are looking for lavender-colored benches, don’t miss the benches in Farigliano, positioned among the vineyards outside the town, and the one in Coazzolo, near the cemetery!

The benches can be visited year -round and at any time. They are always ready to make us become children again and feel like characters in a book.

We look forward to your photos with the giant benches, wherever you are! Whether you are strolling or riding your Vespa, don’t forget your passport so you can update it bench after bench.

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