M'illumino di meno – pedal power

The 100 year old coffee machine has been dusted off and tested (article here), the antique coffee bean grinder has been completed restored and this week the preparations have been going on all over Barga for the other vital part of National Saving Energy Day, “M’illumino di meno” to be held at Aristo’s bar in Barga Vecchia on Friday – the pedal power generator which will be used to light the event.

12th February is the National Saving Energy Day, “M’illumino di meno” which is held each year in Italy where people try out various systems that visibly show that they are attempting to save energy.

That evening the lights that normally illuminate many national monuments in Rome and Milano will be switched off to “highlight” this attempt at saving energy on a large scale.

Here in Barga, for the fourth year running, Aristo’s bar will be joining in and switching off the lights for the evening and instead turning to candle power to keep the dark at bay. A team of cyclists will take turns to mount and keep turning the pedal power generator which will supply, if all goes according to plan, the lights to keep everybody in sight.

no images were found

The pedal power generator is a “work in progress” involving quite a few organisations here in Barga.

The base is an exercise bike from the spinning studios of the palestra Activity di San Pietro in Campo The mechanics at Tecnocross supplied the dynamo, lights and wiring from a three wheeler Ape and the talented wrought iron specialists at Togneri Ferro Battuto spent most of today assembling the bike. Next in line will be Claudio the electrician in Piazza Angelio to make sure that all is working as it should and then on Friday it will be the turn of the cyclists to supply the human leg power to make the whole project light up.

Music (rigorously acoustic) will be supplied by members of the Barga Jazz Festival. This year there will also be an installation by some of the artists from Venti d’Arte

barganews.com e Giornaledibarga.it organizzano per il quarto anno consecutivo “M’illumino di meno… da Aristo”.
Barga si inserisce così a pieno titolo nella iniziative intraprese nell’ambito della campagna “M’illumino di meno” promossa dalla trasmissione Caterpillar di Radio2 e che si terrà la sera del prossimo 12 febbraio
All’antica bottega di mescita Da Aristo in piazza Salvo Salvi, luci spente, illuminazione fornita da una dinamo alimentata da una bicicletta da spinning dove pedaleranno a turno diversi partecipanti in costume d’epoca; concerto rigorosamente acustico dei musicisti di BargaJazz e accensione della prima moka da caffè prodotta in Italia nel 1910.
Non mancherà anche una parte artistica: ci sarà un concerto di strumenti a plettro ed a fiato, senza l’ausilio di elettricità a cura dei musicisti del festival BargaJazz che proporranno musica all’esterno della Bottega, una speciale installazione artistica a lume di candela curata dagli artisti di Venti d’Arte.  – La manifestazione aperta a tutti.