A mountain town in the Italian Alps, surrounded by steep mountains that obscure sunlight, erected a large mirror in 2006 to track the sun’s trajectory and bounce sunlight into the town square. The mayor, in an interview quoted in this Vice article, explained the project’s humanistic aims superseded its scientific foundation:
Although created to solve a very practical problem, the project has an almost poetic side to it too. “The idea behind the project doesn’t have a scientific basis, but a human one,” former mayor Midali said in a 2008 interview. “It comes from a desire to let people socialise in winter when the town shuts down due to the cold and the dark.”
You can also watch a video (in Italian) of the mirror’s inauguration here.