Located on the lake of the same name, Como is the birthplace of scientist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827). Volta is known for several advancements in the fields of electrology and chemistry, such as the electrophorus and the voltaic pile, a kind of electric battery. While he spent most of his academic life at the University of Pavia where he was professor of Experimental Physics, he spent his youth and early years as a scientist in Como, a city that bears many celebratory signs of the inventor.

In our trip to Como, we will follow the “Voltian relics” (the historical artefacts related to Volta) into two landmarks dedicated to the scientist: the Physics Museum of the Liceo Volta and the Tempio Voltiano. The Liceo Volta is a secondary school and was directed by Volta between 1774 and 1778, when he was the dean of all Como schools. Here, we will be accompanied by some students of the Liceo to visit the collections dedicated to Volta and his contemporaries. The Tempio Voltiano is a neoclassical temple, now civic museum, built for the purpose of celebrating the city hero. It was inaugurated in 1928 to host the collections that had survived the fire of the 1899 Voltian Exhibition.

Volta has been inscribed in a pantheon of the Italian scientific and technological “heroes”, whose origins can be traced in the nationalistic propaganda of Italian fascism. The relics related to him are material remains of this narrative, and open crucial questions in the history of science and technology and in STS: What’s the purpose of celebrating heroes of the past through material remains? How is the authenticity of relics constructed? How to deal with myths in the material history of technoscience today?

The STS Italia organising committee is solely responsible for the two guided tours at the Liceo Volta and the Tempio Voltiano. Participants should take care of their own trip to Como via train or other means (see “How to get to Como” below) and their own lunch. Please, notice that Como is a touristic site and is expected to have a high number of visitors on weekends, so we suggest you book restaurant tables and other amenities in advance.