Brunate

Volta Lighthouse

Visit duration: 45 min – 1 h 30
Booking: Not required
Area: First Basin

Fabio Caironi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Fabio Caironi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fabio Caironi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why go

The lighthouse was built in 1927 at San Maurizio, above Brunate, for the centenary of Alessandro Volta's death, to a design by the engineer Gabriele Giussani.

The tower is 29 metres high and stands 909 metres above sea level; inside, a spiral staircase of 143 steps climbs to two circular balconies. The lantern at the top has green, white and red lights, the colours of the Italian flag. It is a monument and a viewpoint in one: from the terrace you see the first basin, the Brianza, the plain and, on clear days, Monte Rosa. The lighthouse stands in the municipality of Brunate but belongs to the Comune di Como.

The octagonal tower of 1927, with its lantern in the colours of the Italian flag.
The walk up from Brunate between Liberty villas.

Getting there

Funicular from Como to Brunate, then 30 minutes uphill on foot.

The view from the lighthouse: the woods below, Como at the end of the lake and, beyond, the hills and the plain in the haze.

Accessibility

A long flight of steps leads to the viewing terrace; the platform at the top is reached by the spiral staircase inside, 143 steps.

Practical information

Facilities

Car park 7 m away · free
Public toilets 92 m away

Distances from the point on the map.

The light

In winter there is the dry air and the city lights coming on below; in late September and mid-March the sun sets right behind Monte Rosa, in winter further south. Go up half an hour before sunset. Check access conditions at the lighthouse before visiting.

Faces: south
Best light: sunset
Full moon: Tue 24 Nov · 17:29 · north-east

JuneDecember

The skyline measured every two degrees out to twenty-two kilometres, and to two hundred where the near mountains let the Alps show. The solid line is the sun's arc at the summer solstice, which leaves the top of the frame; the dashed one is the winter solstice, with the hour it comes out from behind the mountain and the hour it goes back.

See from here where the sun goes, in 3D

All the photo spots

Webcams

Brunate, looking northUpdated image · Ristorante Hotel Falchetto, su WeatherCam · 1.3 km

Updated 22 October 2026

The mountains from here

The highest summit in view from here is Gran Paradiso, 4061 m, 147 kilometres away.

Open the panorama with the summits by name

The ochre line follows today's sun path and marks the estimated times of its first and last appearance above the mountains. Drag the panorama to see all of it.

How it is drawn

Paler ridges are farther away; heights are stretched two and a half times. Houses are not drawn, nor are trees within half a kilometre. Terrain © Regione Lombardia (CC BY 4.0); summits © OpenStreetMap contributors.