On the Como lakefront, near the Tempio Voltiano, a tower about 30 metres high commemorates the people of Como who fell in the Great War: the design comes from the Futurist Antonio Sant’Elia, the building from the Terragni brothers, and since 2026 you can also climb to the top.
History
At the start of 1930 the Comune announced a competition for a war memorial, but no proposal convinced the commission. On 14 September 1930 an exhibition of Antonio Sant’Elia opened at the Broletto: Sant’Elia, a Como architect born in 1888, died in the war on 10 October 1916, aged 28. On 5 October Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, founder of Futurism, came to see it and chose a drawing, the “Torre Faro”, as the model for the monument: it was a 1914 image in coloured pencil and watercolour, inspired by industrial forms and power stations.
The foundation stone was laid on 30 October 1930. Marinetti entrusted the transformation of the drawing to the Futurist painter and stage designer Enrico Prampolini, who simplified it and conceived a light to be kept burning day and night inside the monument. By May 1931 the foundations were ready, but Prampolini could not direct the works and the site stopped. The engineer Attilio Terragni took over and brought in his brother Giuseppe: he changed the project substantially and designed the glass windows.
The ground was friable and damp, and to bear the tower’s weight 43 concrete piles were needed under a reinforced concrete slab. Then the firms Nessi-Maiocchi and Tagliasacchi clad it with about 2,000 pieces of Aurisina and Reppen limestone, chosen because they come from the Karst, where fierce battles were fought in the Great War. On the front an inscription says that the city honours the glory of its sons with the stones of the Karst, while on the lake side is a sentence attributed to Sant’Elia a few days before he died, which Marinetti wanted: “Tonight we sleep in Trieste or in paradise with the heroes”. On 28 September 1932 the granite monolith carrying the names of Como’s 650 fallen was placed inside; its weight is 40 tonnes according to QuiComo and Wikipedia, 50 according to Old Como. The monument was inaugurated on 4 November 1933, with Bishop Alessandro Macchi and a long procession led by the podestà.
What to see
From outside the tower, about 30 metres high, is a mass of stone opened by large windows towards the sky, easily recognisable from the lake. Inside, a granite monolith faced with diorite carries the names of the fallen, and a circular stair goes down to the lower level, where the altar and the shrine designed by Terragni are.
Practical information
- After years of closure the monument can be visited in 2026, from 2 June to 4 November: Wednesday and Friday 10am to 1pm, Saturday and Sunday 2pm to 5pm (the May press release said 6pm, the Comune’s page updated on 24 June says 5pm); special opening on 2 June and 4 November from 2pm to 5pm, closed on 15 August.
- Ticket: 6 euros full, 4 euros reduced (over 65, Como residents, university students), 3 euros for minors aged 6 to 18, Como Family Pass 15 euros. You buy online on the Como museums site or at the ticket desks of the Tempio Voltiano, the Pinacoteca civica and the Broletto Info Point; entry is included in the CoMmUnity Card.
- The stair to the top is steep and narrow: the Comune advises against the visit for people with mobility difficulties, heart problems, asthma, vertigo or claustrophobia, and asks that minors be accompanied. Access may be interrupted in rain, strong wind or weather alerts, and is forbidden on days of Como 1907 home matches.
- Calendar and hours apply to the 2026 season: to be rechecked after 4 November.
- The monument stands in the gardens on the lake, near the Tempio Voltiano and the Novocomum.
