Life Electric: Daniel Libeskind's Como Monument

An Homage to Alessandro Volta

Rising from the waters of Lake Como, The Life Electric is a contemporary public monument dedicated to the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta, the inventor of the electric battery. Designed by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind, the installation was commissioned by the non-profit civic organization Amici di Como to coincide with Expo 2015 and mark the 260th anniversary of Volta’s birth. Libeskind, who had previously run a summer architecture school in Como in 1988, donated the design to the municipality.

The 11-tonne sculpture stands 13.75 meters tall, or 14.25 meters including its stone base. Constructed from calendered steel and clad in type 316 mirror-finish stainless steel panels, the monument consists of two opposing sinusoidal curves that rise above a circular stone perimeter containing a shallow reflective pool. Geometrically, the opposing arcs are engineered to evoke the tension of electric current flowing between positive and negative battery poles. From specific viewing perspectives, the curved silhouettes also frame the stylized initials "A.V." in honor of the physicist.

Engineering and Breakwater History

The installation sits at the circular end of the Pietro Caldirola breakwater (Diga Foranea), extending roughly 340 meters into the lake basin. The breakwater was originally constructed around 1870 to protect the lakefront after Como filled in its historic inner port to build Piazza Cavour. Initially an isolated barrier, the breakwater was connected to the shore during mid-20th-century reconfigurations.

Installing an 11-tonne metallic structure on the historic pier required significant structural consolidation. Because the pier was too narrow for heavy road transport, prefabricated steel segments were carried across Lake Como on barges and set into place using floating cranes. The placement of an avant-garde steel work in the historic 19th-century basin provoked petitions and passionate civic debate among residents and preservation advocates. The sculpture was officially inaugurated on October 2, 2015, in an event attended by Libeskind, local dignitaries, actress Nastassja Kinski, and Luigi Martino Volta, a direct descendant of the scientist.

The Voltaic Triangle and Rationalist Dialogue

Libeskind conceived the monument as the missing node of a "Voltaic Triangle" spanning the Como basin. This conceptual triad links two centennial monuments built in 1927: the Neoclassical Tempio Voltiano on the western shore and the hillside Faro Voltiano lighthouse high above in Brunate. The Life Electric serves as the modern third pole completing this geometric tribute to Volta's legacy.

The sculpture also engages in an architectural conversation with Como's 20th-century heritage. Positioned across the water from pioneering works by Rationalist architect Giuseppe Terragni, including the Novocomum apartment building and the Monumento ai Caduti, the deconstructivist curves of The Life Electric align with Como’s long history as an epicenter of modern Italian architecture.

The Pier Vantage Point

Accessed from Lungolago Mafalda di Savoia, the circular platform surrounding The Life Electric serves as an open-air public destination. Seating arranged around the reflective pool provides a 360-degree panorama encompassing the walled city, surrounding Alpine slopes, the hillside village of Brunate, and historic lakefront promenades. Situated hundreds of meters out over the open water, the site is defined by unobstructed winds and the continuous sound of lake water lapping against the stone riprap.