Villa Olmo

In 1927, on the occasion of the first centenary of Alessandro Volta's death, a large-scale international exhibition (12000 m2) was set up near the elegant Villa Olmo to celebrate the progress of the hydroelectric, telephonic and telegraphic industries and the art of silk weaving. This exhibition was certainly more successful than the previous one, held in 1899 to celebrate the centenary of the invention of the battery and inaugurated in the presence of the King of Italy, Umberto I. Soon after its opening, the exhibition caught fire and the fire, it lasted for three days, destroying all the pavilions. The failure was not total because the exhibition was completely reorganized in record time and the king was able to show up at the second reopening. But returning to Villa Olmo, what other place can boast, besides a magnificent Italian garden and luxurious interiors, of having a young Albert Einstein among its visitors? While in Como, Einstein declared: "The battery is the fundamental basis of all inventions".