There is a lot circulating about Alessandro Volta’s bicentenary in 2027, and not all of it holds up. This page keeps only what can be sourced: what has been set up, who runs it, the dates that are fixed, and the shape of the day that actually works if you come to Lake Como for it.
What has actually been established
The National Committee for the Volta Celebrations was established by Italian law of 30 December 2024, no. 207. Its president is Massimo Inguscio. That is the body responsible for the official programme, and it is the reference point for anything presented as official.
The programme has a name: 200VOLTeVOLTA
The programme of celebrations is called 200VOLTeVOLTA. It was presented at a press conference on 10 March, at the Liceo Volta in Como — the school that carries his name, in the city where he was born and died.
One correction worth making, because the wrong name travels fast: the 2027 programme is 200VOLTeVOLTA. The name used for the Volta celebrations of 1899 and 1927 belongs to those years, not to this one.
The dates that are fixed
- 18 February 1745 — Alessandro Volta is born in Como.
- 5 March 1827 — Volta dies in Como. This is what makes 2027 the bicentenary of his death.
- 8 September 1927 — the Faro Voltiano above Brunate is inaugurated, for the first centenary of his death. 8 September 2027 is therefore the lighthouse’s own centenary: two anniversaries in the same year, and they are not the same anniversary.
Volta and Brunate: thirty months
The link between Volta and the village above Como is not a marketing line. According to the FAI, Italy’s national trust, Volta spent the first thirty months of his life in Brunate, in the care of a wet nurse. A century after his death, the tower built in his memory went up on Monte Tre Croci, at about 900 metres above sea level, right above the village where he began. Its terrace is the reason people still walk up.
What we are not publishing
Budget figures, event counts and reopening dates for 2027 are being repeated online without a source anyone can check. We are leaving them out. When the National Committee publishes a calendar, that calendar is the source — not the summaries of it.
The day that works: it closes at the bottom
If you come for the bicentenary, do the day in this order. It is the order the geography gives you, and it ends in the right place.
- Como, at lake level. Start at the Tempio Voltiano on the lakefront — the neoclassical rotunda by Federico Frigerio, opened on 15 July 1928, holding Volta’s original instruments. Then the lakefront walk out along the Diga Foranea to The Life Electric, Daniel Libeskind‘s stainless steel sculpture unveiled on 2 October 2015: 29 tonnes, two sine curves standing for Volta’s initials and for the tension between the two poles of his battery.
- The 1894 funicular. From Piazza De Gasperi, the Como-Brunate funicular, inaugurated on 11 November 1894, climbs to the village in seven minutes.
- The lighthouse and its terrace. From the upper station it is about 1.8 kilometres with 200 metres of ascent to the Faro Voltiano: an octagonal tower 29 metres tall by the engineer Gabriele Giussani. The outdoor terrace at its base is free and always accessible, and the view turns a full 360 degrees — the Como branch of the lake, the Orobie and Lepontine Alps as far as Monte Rosa, the Po Valley, and on clear days the Madonnina on Milan Cathedral. After dark the lantern turns white, red and green, visible up to 40 kilometres away.
- Lunch in Brunate. Both MamaGina Brunate and La Polenteria are about 200 metres from the tower. You do not go back down to eat.
- Down again, and an evening walk in Como. Seven minutes on the funicular, then the old town inside its medieval walls: Piazza Duomo and the cathedral, the Broletto in white, grey and red marble, the arcades of Via Vittorio Emanuele, and Piazza Cavour open onto the water.
And then the detail that makes the order matter. Standing in Piazza Cavour at the end of the day, turn round and look up at the mountain: above the village there is a point of light going round, white, red and green. That is the tower you stood under a few hours earlier, signalling back at the city where Volta was born. The day closes at the bottom, looking up.
Frequently asked questions about 2027
Who is running the official Volta celebrations for 2027?
A National Committee for the Volta Celebrations was established by Italian law of 30 December 2024, no. 207. Its president is Massimo Inguscio. The programme presented at the press conference of 10 March at the Liceo Volta in Como is called 200VOLTeVOLTA.
What are the dates that are actually confirmed?
Alessandro Volta was born in Como on 18 February 1745 and died in Como on 5 March 1827, which makes 2027 the bicentenary of his death. The Faro Voltiano above Brunate was inaugurated on 8 September 1927, so 8 September 2027 is its centenary.
Is there a real connection between Volta and Brunate?
Yes. According to the FAI, Italy’s national trust, Volta spent the first thirty months of his life in Brunate, in the care of a wet nurse. The lighthouse built in his memory in 1927 stands on Monte Tre Croci, above the village.
What is the best way to see it all in one day?
Start low and finish low. Tempio Voltiano in Como, then the lakefront out to The Life Electric on the breakwater; the 1894 funicular up to Brunate; the Faro Voltiano and its free outdoor terrace; lunch in Brunate, about 200 metres from the tower; then back down for an evening walk through central Como.