Como–Brunate Funicular and the Voltian Lighthouse

Two symbols of Como: the Como–Brunate funicular and the Voltian Lighthouse

Two historic pieces of infrastructure in the city of Como — the funicular railway linking the city centre to Brunate and the Voltian Lighthouse — remain among the most significant testimonies to the area's blend of tourist appeal and scientific heritage, as emerges from the converging accounts of numerous publications and specialist websites.

The funicular, 130 years above the lake

According to funicolarecomo.it and Wikipedia, the line was inaugurated in 1894 and is now operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM). Both sources agree that in 1911 traction switched from steam to electricity, and that between 1934 and 1935 the entire system was renovated, including the construction of a new station in Brunate.

A further change of management is consistently reconstructed by both sources: in 1981 ownership passed to the Lombardy Region, which entrusted operations to a consortium (CPT/CTP) formed by municipalities in Como province; since 2005 it has been run by the Consorzio Mobilità Funicolare & Bus, with ATM handling operations.

On the details of the journey, atm.it and Wikipedia agree: the ride lasts 7 minutes, the Como station is located in Piazza Alcide De Gasperi, and there is a request stop at Carescione along the route.

There are, however, points of divergence. On operating hours, atm.it states that the funicular runs from 6am to midnight, a claim contradicted by Wikipedia. There is also disagreement over the date the carriages were replaced: funicolarecomo.it puts it at 1951, while Wikipedia offers a different account.

Beyond these shared elements, Wikipedia alone provides numerous technical details that should be treated with caution in the absence of corroboration: the line is said to measure 1,074.08 metres, with a height difference of 493.92 metres and a maximum gradient of 55.10%; the system reportedly has 4 stations or stops. According to the same sole source, in 1945, in the midst of the war, the line recorded 1,556,082 passengers, while in 1999 it was said to have been fully automated with the installation of video surveillance. The carriages currently in service, numbered 12 and 13, are reported to have been in operation since 13 August 2011, each with a capacity of 80 people. Only atm.it, meanwhile, notes that the service is accessible to wheelchair users.

A curious and well-documented detail concerns the "Midday Cannon": according to funicolarecomo.it and Wikipedia, it was installed in 1912 and still fires a blank shot every day at noon.

The Voltian Lighthouse, a tribute to Volta on Monte Tre Croci

On the subject of the Voltian Lighthouse, agreement among sources is even broader. Five outlets — comune.brunate.co.it, fondoambiente.it, quicomo.it, in-lombardia.it and oggiacomo.it — agree on the construction date, 1927, on the height of 29 metres, and on its location in the San Maurizio area of Brunate, on Monte Tre Croci. The same sources unanimously state that the lighthouse was built to mark the centenary of Alessandro Volta's death, and four of them (all except in-lombardia.it) attribute the design to engineer Gabriele Giussani and confirm the structure's octagonal floor plan.

According to most of the sources, at night the lighthouse emits beams of white, red and green light, while inside a spiral staircase of 143 steps leads to the top, as reported by fondoambiente.it, quicomo.it and in-lombardia.it. Comune.brunate.co.it and oggiacomo.it add that the lighthouse was a gift from the city of Como to its famous citizen, and the same two sources list the current admission prices: 1 euro for under-18s, 2 euros for adults, and 1 euro per person for groups of at least 15 — a figure also confirmed by quicomo.it.

Fondoambiente.it and oggiacomo.it also note that the lighthouse is currently closed for extraordinary maintenance work.

Several details about the monument's history and recent events, however, come from a single source and should be treated with due caution. Fondoambiente.it recounts that the lighthouse was donated by Igni to the Municipality of Como even though it stands on Brunate's territory, that the original idea dated back to Luigi Guanella for the 1899 Volta celebrations and was later revived by Igni for those of 1927, and that the light is said to be visible from up to 40 kilometres away. According to the same source, the lighthouse has been nominated for the FAI's "Luoghi del Cuore" (Places of the Heart) initiative ahead of a planned restoration to be completed before the 2027 Volta celebrations.

Quicomo.it, for its part, reports that the inauguration took place on 8 September 1927 in the presence of the Minister of Communications Costanzo Ciano, and reconstructs a multi-year project promoted by the Rotary Club of Como between 2012 and 2016 to renew the lighting with LED technology, culminating in 2016 with the installation of new, more powerful lamps sourced from New Zealand. The same source recounts that during the works a 70-kilogram reservoir of liquid mercury was removed from the rotating mechanism, later disposed of by the Gorizia-based company SPHERAE.