Original Voltaic pile. Probably made and used by Volta himself. This pile was shown at the exhibition at Como, Italy in 1899, commemorating the work of Galvani and Volta. he voltaic pile was the first electrical battery that could continuously provide an electric current to a circuit. Volta stacked several pairs of alternating copper (or silver) and zinc discs (electrodes) separated by cloth or cardboard soaked in brine (electrolyte) to increase the electrolyte conductivity. When the top and bottom contacts were connected by a wire, an electric current flowed through the voltaic pile and the connecting wire.