Sancarlone, Colossal religious statue in Arona, Italy
Sancarlone is a monumental copper and bronze figure on an approximately 12-meter granite pedestal in Arona, located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore. The right hand rises in a gesture of blessing, while the left holds a book, and the entire construction reaches a total height of over 35 meters.
Federico Borromeo, cousin and successor of Charles Borromeo as Archbishop of Milan, promoted the project; the first stone of the Sacro Monte was laid on 13 July 1614. The statue, designed by Giovanni Battista Crespi and built by Siro Zanella and Bernardo Falcone, was completed in 1698 and blessed on 19 May 1698 by Cardinal Federico Caccia. It remained the tallest enterable statue until 1886, when the Statue of Liberty surpassed it.
The figure depicts Saint Carlo Borromeo, who was born in Arona and later became Archbishop of Milan. Many visitors from the surrounding area recognize the representation immediately, as the saint continues to play an important religious role in the region and many churches bear his name.
A spiral staircase and a ship ladder inside lead up to viewing points at the shoulders and head of the monument. From there you have an open view over Lake Maggiore and the surrounding hills.
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi studied the statue in Arona in 1869 on his way back from Egypt, and the colossus is named on a plaque at the feet of his Statue of Liberty. The copper shell is only about a millimetre thick, held by iron beams on an inner core of stacked Angera stone blocks.
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