Italian News Headlines 13-06-2025: The world's most famous Tik Toker, Italian, Kharby Lame, was arrested and then expelled from the United States for remaining in the country after his visa expired. --- The Italian navy training ship, Amerigo Vespucci, arrived in Cagliari to be welcomed by Luna Rossa, the winner of the 37th America's Cup youth and women's tournament --- Italy will host the 38th edition of the America's Cup in Naples in 2027 --- Robert Francis Prevost from the USA has been chosen as the new pope, taking the name, Pope Leo XIV --- Two floating cranes, one of which is among the most powerful in Europe, have begun the process of lifting the sunken superyacht, the Bayesian, to the surface off the coast of Sicily --- Italian racing driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the F1 Mercedes team's replacement for Lewis Hamilton, became the youngest driver to take a Formula 1 pole position for the sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix --- King Charles III addresses the Italian Parliament in Italian, during his state visit of Italy --- A new discovery at Pompei has uncovered near life-sized frescoes that depict religious practices that were popular in the ancient city before its destruction in AD79 --- Pope Francis has spent a 10th night in hospital having been admitted with pneumonia in both lungs --- The Demoskopika Institute has rated Italy at the top of the European Tourism Reputation Index, above Greece and Spain, for the second year running.

Alessandro Volta

Alessandro Volta
See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (1745 - 1827) was an Italian physicist and chemist credited with the invention of the electric battery. He is also named the discoverer of methane, as well as having discovered the ‘volt’, the unit of electromagnetic force which is named after him.

Even two centuries after his death, Volta’s overriding legacy is his significant contribution to the growing field of electricity around the turn of the 19th century.

Volta was born in Como, Lombardy, to a wealthy and religious family. It was their hope he would grow up to study law, whilst his teachers wished for him to enter the priesthood. However, he was drawn towards physics; in particular, electricity.

In the mid-1700s, scientists were desperately waiting for an electricity breakthrough. Leyden jars had just been invented and Benjamin Franklin was flying a kite during a thunderstorm to discover the connection between electricity and lightning. Doctors were also administering electrical therapy to soldiers to try and cure paralysis. Electricity had captured the world’s attention and this hadn’t gone unnoticed by the young Volta.

He left school early and did not enter higher education, choosing instead to seek out scientists conducting research into electricity. Despite no formal education, he became a Professor of Physics in Como and started experimenting with electricity at home. His first great contribution was his major tweaks to the perpetual electrophorus, an implement that produces static electricity. He then produced his own device, the ‘Voltaic pile’, said to be a precursor to many technologies including the internal combustion engine.

Word quickly spread about the young Professor and subsequently, he was appointed Professor of Physics at the University of Pavia, a role he would hold for 40 years.

His fifty-fifth year saw the most important turning point in his career. One morning, the Royal Society of London received a letter announcing the invention of the ‘electric pile’, now known as the ‘voltaic pile’. Nobody had previously been able to sustain a spark of electricity over any length of time, but Volta ascertained he could now make this possible. With the pile, not only did Volta produce the world’s first-ever battery, but he also debunked a popular theory at the time which demonstrated that frogs’ legs were sources of electricity.

The invention was such a hit that Volta was personally invited by Napolean Bonaparte to the Tuileries to demonstrate how the device worked. With Volta’s own ongoing research and that of fellow scientists, buoyed by his revolutionary invention, the development of electricity accelerated.

A decade after his invention, Zolta was made a Count by Napoleon. In his lifetime, he also achieved the Royal Society’s Copley Medal, Napoleon’s Order of the Iron Crown and the illustrious Légion d'honneur).

Once his reputation had soared, twinned with increasing old age, Volta began to withdraw from both work and public life. At the age of 74, he retired to his Como estate for the remaining eight years of his life.

The Best Italian Handmade Gifts
Direct From Italy

Cagliari (tan) - High quality, luxurious and beautiful shoulder bag

More Details

Other pages you might like
Newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive our free newsletter, 'I Love Italy'. It provides a captivating glimpse into the allure of 'The Bel Paese', containing extracts from our most recent articles, a window on Italian news, fashion, music and culture, useful information for visiting and living in Italy as well as our latest, delicious Italian recipes.

Subscribers are also entitled to a 10% discount on purchases from our sister-site, Italy Gifts Direct.

We will not use your email address for any other purpose or pass it on to any other organisation and you can unsubscribe from this service at any time.
up arrow