San Carlone di Arona

A hill not far from the town of Arona is the home of the sanctuary of Sacro Monte di S. Carlo, built after the canonisation of Archbishop Borromeo in 1610. The initial project included fifteen chapels, a church and the monumental statue of San Carlo. However, wars, famines and epidemics slowed down the construction works, and only in 1698 was the monumental statue of San Carlo, designed by Giovan Battista Crespi, known as “il Cerano”, finally completed. The statue took 84 years to complete. The chapel complex was never finished, and only three of the fifteen chapels included in the original plan have survived. The Colle’s main attraction is without doubt the statue, affectionately called by locals “San Carlone”. It was built by sculptors Siro Zanella from Pavia and Bernardo Falconi from Lugano.