Statua di Alessandro Volta (Statue of Alessandro Volta), Como

Alessandro Volta鈥檚 tale begins not with lightning bolts or grand laboratories, but with frogs. In the late 1700s, Luigi Galvani was busy poking at frog legs, convinced their twitching proved that animals themselves generated electricity. Volta, ever the contrarian son of Como, thought otherwise. He suspected the spark came from the metals, not the meat. To prove it, he stacked discs of copper and zinc, separated by brine-soaked cloth. The result? The voltaic pile鈥攖he world鈥檚 first true battery, born in 1800. Suddenly, electricity wasn鈥檛 just a curiosity, it was chemistry harnessed鈥攁nd the field of electrochemistry took off. Fame followed, but Volta himself preferred quiet country life, where he died in 1827 at the age of 82.

Como wasted little time in immortalizing him. By 1838, a monument rose in Volta Square. Sculptor Pompeo Marchesi cast him in Roman dignity, toga draped just so, a book in one hand and his battery under the other. The pedestal bears inscriptions of his achievements. A pair of bronze plaques added later mark the centenary of the battery, reminding passersby that modern science was sparked, quite literally, here.

Today, the statue is less background ornament than cornerstone. It anchors a lively square of caf茅s and chatter, linking everyday Como to its most famous native son. Stand before it and you鈥檙e in the company of a man whose curiosity rewired the world.

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Sight Name: Statua di Alessandro Volta (Statue of Alessandro Volta)
Sight Location: Como, Italy (See walking tours in Como)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Como Introduction Walking Tour

Walking Tours in Como, Italy

Create Your Own Walk in Como

Creating your own self-guided walk in Como is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

Como Lakeshore Walking Tour

English novelist Mary Shelley declared visitors to Italy are in danger of becoming: "enjoyers of the beauties of nature, the elegance of art, the delights of climate, the recollections of the past, and the pleasures of society." All this she found on the shores of Lake Como. From Roman writer Pliny the Younger onward, visitors and natives of Como would have agreed.

The alpine lake is... view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles

Como Introduction Walking Tour

The Roman writer Pliny the Younger once wrote to his friend, 鈥淲hat is the news from Como, mine and your delight?鈥� Como is a place of palaces, churches, gardens, temples, museums, and parks. Its nearness to the spectacular Lake Como and the Swiss and Italian Alps has made the area a traveler鈥檚 delight from the time of Pliny the Younger to the present day.

Pliny wasn鈥檛 its first fan,... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles

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