The importance of Alessandro Volta in the history of Como is also demonstrated by the fact that an exception was made to the rule of not naming two public thoroughfares after the same person in the same city. Before the dedication of the street where his birthplace is located, which, with the reform of the street map in 1888, replaced the previous districts of Porta Nuova (southern section) and Contrada del Fontanile (northern section), the dedication of the square where the monument to the great physicist was inaugurated in 1838, the work of sculptor Pompeo Marchesi, one of the leading exponents of Italian Neoclassicism. Since then, the name Piazza Jasca—according to Benedetto Giovio linked to an Aliasca family who lived there—has been largely abandoned in favor of that of the inventor of the battery, who stands tall in the center, above a massive pedestal created by Francesco Durelli, professor at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. A very sober dedication, in keeping with the personality of the honoree, distinguishes the monument: “To Volta – The Homeland.” During the celebrations in 1999-2000, the Municipality of Como enhanced the square by repaving it, redesigning the street furniture and greenery, and installing luminous strips on the pavement. On March 5, 2022, the 195th anniversary of the scientist’s death, the Alessandro Volta Foundation inaugurated new LED lighting for the monument.
