Alessandro Volta was born in Como on 18 February 1745 and died in Como on 5 March 1827. His home town did not give him a monument. It gave him three, built decades apart, and they happen to stand in a vertical line. At the bottom, on the lakefront, the Tempio Voltiano, opened on 15 July 1928, holds the instruments Volta actually worked with. On the water, at the tip of the Diga Foranea breakwater facing Piazza Cavour, two steel sine waves have twisted since 2 October 2015: The Life Electric. At the top, above the village of Brunate, stands the Faro Voltiano of 8 September 1927 — a 29-metre octagonal lighthouse whose beam turns white, red and green and is visible up to 40 kilometres away.
In Como the three together are called the Volta triptych. They are not three boxes to tick. They are one idea told three times, and in the right order the sequence means something: the battery at the bottom, the voltage on the water, the light at the top.
Three works in his memory, none of them his
None of the three was built by Volta, which is the misunderstanding worth clearing first. He died in 1827. The lighthouse came a century later, the Tempio the year after the lighthouse, Libeskind’s sculpture eighty-eight years after that. Three different generations of Como decided, with the tools of their own time, to say the same thing: this is where the man who invented the battery came from. Brunate’s claim is not a tourist-board invention either — 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 battery at the bottom: Tempio Voltiano, Como, 1928
The Tempio Voltiano sits in the Giardini a Lago, the lakeside gardens, and looks older than it is: a neoclassical rotunda designed by the architect Federico Frigerio, built between 1925 and 1927 and opened to the public on 15 July 1928. Inside there are no replicas. There are Volta’s original instruments, the objects he handled. It is the only one of the three works with a door and an opening time, and it is the one to start from: once you have seen the real batteries, the rest of the day reads differently.
One date to keep straight: the Tempio’s own centenary falls in 2028, not 2027.
The voltage on the water: The Life Electric, 2015
From Piazza Cavour you can see a blade of steel twisting at the end of the breakwater. That is The Life Electric, by Daniel Libeskind, unveiled on 2 October 2015: stainless steel, 29 tonnes, two opposing sinusoidal surfaces. The curves stand for Alessandro Volta’s initials and, at the same time, for the voltage generated between the two poles of his battery — the discovery itself, turned into a shape.
You reach it on foot along the breakwater, and it looks best from the lake side, with the city behind you. It is the only piece of the triptych standing on water, and it changes hour by hour: the steel takes the colour of the sky, grey under cloud, orange at sunset, almost white at midday in summer.
The light at the top: Faro Voltiano, Brunate, 1927
The Faro Voltiano stands on Monte Tre Croci, in the San Maurizio district of the municipality of Brunate, at about 900 metres above sea level. It was designed by the engineer Gabriele Giussani — not by Frigerio, as is often written — and inaugurated on 8 September 1927, for the first centenary of Volta’s death. The tower is octagonal and 29 metres tall. Its light is tricolour, white, red and green, and on clear nights it can be seen up to 40 kilometres away: a mountain lighthouse marking a city rather than a harbour.
The open terrace at the base of the tower is free and unrestricted, and the panorama is already complete from there. It is the highest 360-degree viewpoint in the area, and the reason people walk up.
What you actually see
Going round the horizon: the Como branch of the lake threading between the mountains, the Orobie and Lepontine Alps with Monte Rosa closing the western end, the flat Po Valley opening to the south and, on clear days, the Madonnina on top of Milan Cathedral, some 40 kilometres away. That last one is the test of a good day. If you can see the Madonnina, the air is right — and that happens far more often between November and February than in July.
The best time to be up there
Two windows. Early morning, when the air is still and Monte Rosa cuts clean into the western skyline. And the last hour of daylight, when the sun drops behind the ridges and the lake goes from blue to lead in about twenty minutes. In midsummer, midday haze usually closes the view towards Milan, and the Madonnina is the first thing to disappear. If you only get one climb, take it on a clear day after the north wind.
Getting there
From Como you take the funicular: a 7-minute ride. From the upper station in Brunate to the lighthouse it is roughly 1.8 kilometres on tarmac with 200 metres of ascent — a steady uphill walk, no exposed sections, no equipment. There is no shortcut; everyone walks the same road. It works with children too, at an unhurried pace. Como itself is reached from Milan by train in well under an hour, which is why the triptych works as a day trip from the city.
The thread between them: the 1894 funicular
The Como-Brunate funicular opened on 11 November 1894 and still does exactly the same job: seven minutes from the lakefront to the balcony above it. It is the piece that turns the triptych into one itinerary instead of three separate visits. Without it, the height difference between the Tempio and the lighthouse would be a hike. With it, it is an afternoon.
2027: two anniversaries, not one
Two things fall in 2027. 8 September 2027 is the centenary of the Faro Voltiano. 2027 is also the bicentenary of Volta’s death, on 5 March 1827: the official programme of celebrations is called 200VOLTeVOLTA and is run by the Fondazione Alessandro Volta. It does not carry the name used for the 1899 and 1927 celebrations, so anyone applying that name to 2027 is quoting an event from a century ago.
Two hundred metres from the lighthouse
One practical figure, because the wrong ones circulate online: from the Faro Voltiano both of our places, MamaGina Brunate and La Polenteria, are about 200 metres away — not the hour’s walk you sometimes read. If you reach the terrace around lunchtime or before sunset, the table is around the corner, and MamaGina’s own terrace looks at the same lake across 180 degrees.
The facts, in short
- Tempio Voltiano — Como lakefront; architect Federico Frigerio; built 1925-1927; opened 15 July 1928; holds Volta’s original instruments.
- The Life Electric — Diga Foranea breakwater, Como; Daniel Libeskind; 2 October 2015; stainless steel; 29 tonnes.
- Faro Voltiano — Monte Tre Croci, San Maurizio, Brunate, about 900 metres above sea level; engineer Gabriele Giussani; 8 September 1927; octagonal, 29 metres; tricolour beam visible up to 40 km; free 360-degree terrace at the base.
- Como-Brunate funicular — opened 11 November 1894; 7-minute ride.
- Brunate upper station to the lighthouse — about 1.8 km, 200 m of ascent, all on foot on a tarmac road.
Three ways to climb it
The triptych works as a half day, as a full day, or as a winter trip, and those are three different experiences. We have written each one out: the half-day route for people with a single afternoon; the full day that starts at the Tempio and ends with dinner at the top; and the winter route, when the lake disappears under a sea of fog and the lighthouse switches on its tricolour beam by half past four in the afternoon.
Frequently asked questions about the Volta triptych
What is the Volta triptych?
Three works built in memory of Alessandro Volta, none of them by him: the Tempio Voltiano on Como’s lakefront (1928), Daniel Libeskind’s The Life Electric on the breakwater (2015) and the Faro Voltiano above Brunate (1927). The 1894 funicular links them.
How do you get to the Volta Lighthouse from Como?
Take the Como-Brunate funicular: a 7-minute ride. From the upper station to the lighthouse it is about 1.8 kilometres of tarmac road with 200 metres of ascent, a steady uphill walk.
How long do you need for the whole triptych?
A full day. The Tempio Voltiano and The Life Electric both sit on Como’s lakefront and take half a morning; the funicular up to Brunate, the walk to the lighthouse and time on the terrace fill the afternoon.
What can you see from the lighthouse terrace?
The full circle of the horizon: 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. It is the highest 360-degree viewpoint in the area.
Can you go to the Volta Lighthouse with children?
Yes. The 1.8 kilometres from the funicular station run on a tarmac road with no exposed sections; with small children take it slowly and carry water, because the final stretch climbs without a break.
How far is the lighthouse from the restaurants in Brunate?
Both MamaGina Brunate and La Polenteria are about 200 metres from the lighthouse: they are the closest places to stop, not the hour’s walk often quoted online.
What is the best time of day to go up?
Early morning for clear air and a sharp view of Monte Rosa; late afternoon for the low light across the lake. In midsummer, midday haze usually closes the horizon towards Milan and the Madonnina disappears first.
And the best season of the year?
November to February brings the clearest air of the year: it is in the cold months that the Madonnina on Milan Cathedral is visible to the naked eye. April and October give the best trade-off between temperature and visibility.
What is Brunate like in winter?
Cold, quiet and clear. On days of temperature inversion the lake vanishes under a sea of fog and only the summits show. In late December the sun sets around 16.40 and the lighthouse’s tricolour beam comes on early.
What is the difference between the three works?
The Tempio Voltiano is a museum holding Volta’s original instruments; The Life Electric is a 29-tonne stainless steel sculpture standing on water; the Faro Voltiano is a 29-metre tower sending a tricolour beam up to 40 kilometres.
2027: frequently asked questions
What are the confirmed dates for Alessandro Volta?
Alessandro Volta was born in Como on 18 February 1745 and died in Como on 5 March 1827. 2027 is therefore the bicentenary of his death, and the official programme of celebrations is called 200VOLTeVOLTA.
What is the Volta triptych, and who built the three works?
The Tempio Voltiano on Como’s lakefront is by the architect Federico Frigerio, The Life Electric on the breakwater is by Daniel Libeskind, and the Faro Voltiano on Monte Tre Croci is by the engineer Gabriele Giussani. All three were built in Volta’s memory: none of them is his own work.
How far are MamaGina Brunate and La Polenteria from the Volta Lighthouse?
Both are about 200 metres from the Faro Voltiano: they are the two closest places to stop by the tower.
Can you visit the Volta Lighthouse terrace in 2027?
The outdoor terrace at the base of the tower is free and always accessible: from there the panorama already turns a full 360 degrees over the Como branch of the lake, the Orobie and Lepontine Alps as far as Monte Rosa, and the Po Valley. On 8 September 2027 the lighthouse turns one hundred.