3-101-932 - Ware in the World/Heritage Images

The Colosso di San Carlone, above Arona, Italy, c1955. The Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, also known as the San Carlone or Sancarlone, is a massive copper statue by Giovanni Battista Crespi, inaugurated in 1698. The colossus represents Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), a Catholic saint and former archbishop of Milan. It is 23.5 metres (77 feet) high, and the granite pedestal and base are 11.5 metres (38 feet) high. Behind the pedestal, two spiral staircases lead to the balcony where a door hidden in the pleats of Borromeo's cassock leads to another spiral staircase and steep vertical stairs that come out at the top of the statue. From here it is possible to take in the view through a series of portholes where the eyes, ears and nostrils are, or through some apertures along the back.