Tempio Voltiano
{{Short description|Museum and monument dedicated to Alessandro Volta in Como, Italy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Tempio Voltiano
| native_name = {{lang|it|Tempio Voltiano}}
| image = Tempo Voltiano from southwest.jpg
| image_size = 280px
| caption = The Tempio Voltiano seen from the southwest
| map_type = Italy Lombardy
| map_caption = Location within Lombardy
| coordinates = {{coord|45|48|53|N|9|04|31|E|type:landmark_region:IT-25|display=inline,title}}
| location = Lungo Lario Marconi, Como, Lombardy, Italy
| type = Biographical museum, Science museum
| collections = Scientific instruments, personal effects, honours of Alessandro Volta
| founder = Francesco Somaini (financier)
| architect = Federico Frigerio
| established = {{Start date|1928|07|15}}{{cite web |url=https://www.storiadicomo.it/tempio-voltiano/ |title=Tempio Voltiano |website=Storia di Como |access-date=2 May 2025 |language=Italian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240414115959/https://www.storiadicomo.it/tempio-voltiano/ |archive-date=14 April 2024 |url-status=live}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.visitcomo.eu/en/discover/museums/voltiano-temple/}}
}}
The {{lang|it|Tempio Voltiano}} (Volta Temple) is a museum in the city of Como, Lombardy, Italy, dedicated to the scientist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). A prolific physicist renowned for inventing the first electrical battery (the voltaic pile), Volta was born in Como and spent much of his life there, holding his first professorship at Como's Royal School from 1774 to 1779 before eventually retiring to the city in 1819.{{cite web |url=https://alessandrovolta.it/en/life-and-work/biography/ |title=Biography |website=Alessandro Volta |publisher=Fondazione Alessandro Volta |access-date=2 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522131750/https://alessandrovolta.it/en/life-and-work/biography/ |archive-date=22 May 2024 |url-status=live}} The museum, designed in the Neoclassical style, stands on the shore of Lake Como and houses a collection of original scientific instruments used by Volta, alongside his personal effects and honours.
History
The idea for a permanent museum dedicated to Volta's scientific legacy arose after a devastating fire in 1899 destroyed a large temporary exhibition set up in Como to mark the centenary of the invention of the voltaic pile. Many original instruments and documents were lost in the fire, highlighting the need for a secure location to preserve the surviving relics.{{cite web |url=https://alessandrovolta.it/musei-e-mostre/musei-permanenti/tempio-voltiano-como/ |title=Tempio Voltiano Como |website=Alessandro Volta |publisher=Fondazione Alessandro Volta |access-date=2 May 2025 |language=Italian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522131752/https://alessandrovolta.it/musei-e-mostre/musei-permanenti/tempio-voltiano-como/ |archive-date=22 May 2024 |url-status=live}}
The project gained momentum approaching the centenary of Volta's death (1927). Generous funding was provided by the cotton industrialist and senator Francesco Somaini, who commissioned the building as a gift to the city.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Casartelli |first=Ornella |title=FRIGERIO, Federico |encyclopedia=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 50 |year=1998 |publisher=Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/federico-frigerio_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |language=Italian |access-date=2 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207120514/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/federico-frigerio_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |archive-date=7 December 2023 |url-status=live}} The chosen architect was Federico Frigerio, known for his work on restoring historical buildings in the Como area. Construction began in 1925 and the building was completed in 1927, though its official inauguration took place on 15 July 1928.
The building suffered damage from flooding in the mid-20th century but underwent subsequent restoration work. It remains a key landmark on Como's lakefront and is managed as part of the city's civic museum network ({{lang|it|Musei Civici di Como}}).
Architecture
File:Volta Monument Como - panoramio.jpg
Designed by Federico Frigerio, the Tempio Voltiano is a prominent example of Neoclassical architecture, drawing direct inspiration from the Pantheon in Rome. The building has a square base, approximately 26 meters wide, surmounted by a large circular hall topped with a high dome, reaching a total height of nearly 26 meters. Its exterior features imposing Corinthian columns and statues representing Science and Faith.
The interior consists of a spacious circular hall, around 12 meters in diameter, illuminated by natural light from the dome's oculus and large windows. An upper gallery, supported by columns, runs around the perimeter of the hall. The floor is decorated with a mosaic. The building is constructed primarily from reinforced concrete, clad externally with Karst stone. Frigerio intended the building not just as a museum but as a secular "temple" dedicated to Volta and the celebration of scientific achievement.
Collection
The museum was established specifically to house the original instruments and documents belonging to Alessandro Volta that survived the 1899 fire, alongside copies of those lost. The main exhibits are arranged chronologically and thematically within display cases on the ground floor of the large central hall. These showcase Volta's key experiments and inventions across different fields:
- Early electrical devices: Including various versions of his groundbreaking voltaic pile (the first electric battery), capacitors, Leyden jars, electrophori, and sensitive electrometers and electroscopes used to detect and measure electric charge.
- Gas studies equipment: Devices used by Volta in his studies of gases, particularly methane (which he discovered), such as eudiometers, his electric pistol, and a lamp based on hydrogen combustion.
The upper gallery houses Volta's personal effects, honours, and awards, including medals, decorations presented by rulers like Napoleon Bonaparte, and publications detailing his work.
Cultural significance
File:Lire 10000 (Alessandro Volta).JPG
The Tempio Voltiano is a major landmark in Como and a significant monument to one of Italy's most important scientists. Its distinctive profile was featured prominently on the reverse side of the Italian 10,000 lire banknote issued between 1984 and 2001 (with Volta's portrait on the obverse).{{cite web |url=https://collezionelire.lamoneta.it/numismatica/lire/RI-BB220 |title=Repubblica Italiana - Banconota da 10.000 lire "Alessandro Volta" |website=La Moneta |access-date=2 May 2025 |language=Italian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904170934/https://collezionelire.lamoneta.it/numismatica/lire/RI-BB220 |archive-date=4 September 2024 |url-status=live}}
The building stands near other Volta-related monuments along the Como lakefront, including the modern sculpture Life Electric (2015) by Daniel Libeskind located on the outer breakwater, and the Faro Voltiano (Volta Lighthouse), built in 1927, situated on a nearby hill at Brunate.
See also
- Como Conference
- University History Museum, University of Pavia (also holds Volta-related items)
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
{{commons category|Tempio voltiano (Como)}}
- {{cite book |title=The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive |first=John |last=Graham-Cumming |chapter=Tempio Voltiano, Como, Italy |publisher=O'Reilly Media |year=2009 |isbn=9780596523206 |page=95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HhEC0q-O1ewC&pg=PA95}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Neoclassical architecture in Lombardy
Category:Buildings and structures in Como
Category:Infrastructure completed in 1927
Category:1928 establishments in Italy
Category:Biographical museums in Italy
Category:Science museums in Italy