Discover Como – Como and Alessandro Volta

Next to the Stadio Sinigaglia, home to Como 1907, is the starting point of an itinerary to discover one of the most famous Como citizens: Alessandro Volta, the inventor of the electric battery.

The city of Como is the birthplace of one of the most known scientists worldwide: the physicist Alessandro Volta, inventor of the electric battery in 1800. Just think that the unit for measuring voltage is named ‘Volt’ in his honour! Alessandro was born in Como in 1745. His city has honoured him with monuments, a square, and a high school. His effigy was once on the 10,000 lire note, together with the Tempio Voltiano, a place of great artistic and scientific interest standing between the stadium and the lakeside gardens. 

Como and Alessandro Volta

The neoclassical Tempio Voltiano, designed by architect Federico Frigerio, was donated to Como in the centenary year of Alessandro Volta’s death (1927). Visiting the monument means immersing oneself in the scientist’s life and his experiments – from the very beginning to the electrical battery – thanks to the original instruments on display in the showcases, surrounded by the natural beauty that makes Como the place to be.

If we walk from the Tempio Voltiano towards the city centre along the lake, which opens in all its beauty to our view, and look ahead, high up on the mountain of Brunate, we will see a lighthouse, which at night is tinged with the colours of the Italian flag. That is the Faro Voltiano, built in 1927, designed by engineer Gabriele Giussani to celebrate Alessandro Volta 100 years after his death. Continuing, we come to Piazza Volta, dedicated to Alessandro, who watches tourists and citizens stroll by from the top of his statue in the centre of the square. The square is one of the meeting places of Como nightlife, with its cocktail bars that come alive in the evening and that, during the summer, offer outdoor tables to enjoy all the pleasure of a holiday in Como.

The places dedicated to Alessandro Volta are a common thread running through the visit to the city. We can walk through the walled city, with its enchanting streets and squares opening up before us, to the Liceo Volta, where the great physicist taught students lucky enough to have Alessandro Volta as a professor. Inside the Liceo is an extraordinary collection of scientific instruments and naturalistic exhibits open to the public. Not far from the Liceo, at the southwestern end of the walled city, is the Torre Gattoni, where Alessandro conducted his first experiments. The Torre was also the site of Como’s first electrical lighting cabin. 

Como and Alessandro Volta
To visit in town
Tempio Voltiano, viale Marconi
Statua di Alessandro Volta, piazza Volta
Liceo Volta, via Cesare Cantù 57
Torre Gattoni, at the intersection between viale Varese and viale Cattaneo

To visit outside the city centre
Tomba di Alessandro Volta, via Luigi Clerici
Faro voltiano, via Giacomo Scalini, località San Maurizio, Brunate