VOLTA TEMPLE, COMO, Volta Temple, Como

Hi, I am Rick, your personal guide, and together with MyWoWo I’d like to welcome you to one of the wonders of the world: the Volta Temple.

The Volta Temple is the most important symbol of recognition by the city to its most illustrious citizen, the great scientist Alessandro Volta, born in Como in 1745.

But who was Alessandro Volta? The inventor of the battery, of course, but not only that!

You should know, in fact, that throughout his life, this great scientist made some of the most important discoveries of the entire 19th century, paving the way for all subsequent studies in the field of electricity, but also related to flammable gases, first and foremost methane, which he discovered.

Just think that in 1927, during the celebrations organized in honor of the 100th anniversary of his death, an international congress of physicists was convened in Como, which was attended by no less than 10 Nobel Prize winners in physics, 2 in chemistry, and 3 other scientists who were awarded Nobel Prizes in the following years. Had he been born a century later, surely Alessandro Volta would have won at least one!

It was precisely on the occasion of the celebrations in 1927 that an important Como entrepreneur, Francesco Somaini, wished to donate the beautiful Volta Temple to Como. It is a building in elegant neoclassical style, which blends well with the style of the most beautiful villas in the area. This is where he wanted all the scientific instruments, machinery and other artefacts related to Volta's studies and inventions to be collected, as well as a series of objects that tell the story of the great scientist's life, from his family to the many international awards he received.

The building, designed by architect Federico Frigerio, is truly shaped like a temple, with a square base, embellished by an elegant entrance with Corinthian columns, through which one enters the large circular inner hall, enclosed by the dome visible from the outside.

Let me bid you farewell with an interesting fact: in 1899, to celebrate the centenary of the invention of the battery, a large universal exhibition was organized in Como, with a display occupying no less than 15,000 square meters. On July 8th of the same year, however, a terrifying fire destroyed almost everything, including part of the exhibits. The cause? Ironically, it was an electrical problem.