Sitting on the steps of the Milan Cathedral is prohibited, and it is not an isolated case: more and more art cities are keeping tourists away from steps and monuments, which risk being ruined. Those who walk for hours, however, have to stop at a certain point, and benches become a necessity rather than a comfort. In this panorama there is a record that few know: the longest bench in Italy is also the longest in the world.
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How many benches are there in Italy?
Nobody knows precisely, because there is no national register that lists them. The numbers depend on the individual municipalities or on some association that has counted them in limited areas, and the picture remains confused. Benches are found everywhere, from sidewalks to squares to gardens; the concrete ones stand up well to time and vandals (though not to scribbles), while the wooden versions are often torn away and, although they remain in the account, are no longer of use to anyone.
Piedmont and Chris Bangle’s giant benches
If you look at the diffusion, Piedmont seems to beat many other regions, and not only for the traditional seats where elderly people, families and tourists rest. Here a very particular type dominates: the giant benches created by designer Chris Bangle, which in Italy are close to two hundred and in Piedmont exceed one hundred. Cuneo and its surroundings have around fifty; the rest is concentrated between Monferrato and Langhe, where the first one appeared in 2010, in Clavesana, the town where Bangle settled.
Milan and the world record bench
Piedmont has the largest number of benches and the province of Cuneo leads the ranking of the giant ones, but the record in length belongs to Milan, and is valid on a global scale. It is located in the Portello district, north-west of the city, in a park designed to recall the industrial past of the area and made of greenery mixed with contemporary installations, such as this semicircle-shaped seat.
The measurements of the work
The structure is made of wood treated against the elements and runs along the perimeter of the park, made up of 1,800 slats 4 meters long each. It stretches for 208 metres, a result that leaves the rest of the world far behind: the second, in Geneva, stops at 120 metres. Anyone passing through Milan can sit and enjoy the park, using it just like any other bench.
