The Sancarloneor more correctly the Colossus of San Carlo Borromeoit is the tallest statue in Italy: overall measurement 35.1 metersof which 11.40pm of statue covered in copper and 11.70 of pedestal. It is located at Arona, in Piedmont, on Lake Maggiore, and is one of the tallest statues that can be visited indoors in the world! But not only that: it was even taken as inspiration for the Statue of Liberty.
The characteristics of the Colossus of San Carlo Borromeo in Arona: 35 m high
The work was created between 1624 and the 1698 by sculptors Siro Zanella And Bernardo Falconi on a project Giovan Battista Crespi. The statue stands upright thanks to an internal support made of stone, bricks And ironwhile the exterior is made up of copper platesvery thin and light, which were hammered directly onto the support structure and joined together by means of nails And tie rods. The arm, made in the act of blessing, is made up of a metal structure, designed to resist the winds of the area.
To date, as anticipated, this 35 meter colossus can be visited and is located right in Piazzale San Carlo, in Arona.
The Sancarlone and the Statue of Liberty
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdithe sculptor who was responsible for the creation of the Statue of Liberty, tried to understand how to build a statue tens and tens of meters high. The solution was to create a structure with a cladding of beaten copper sheets: this is where an Italian monument comes into play. In fact, Bartholdi went to Arona to study the Sancarlone up close, determined to create a version more than double its height and which would have to resist even stronger winds. To do this he got help from Eugène Viollet-le-Ducone of his former architecture professors. Unfortunately however, Le Duc fell ill and died within a short time. At this point in the story our dear friend makes his appearance Gustave Eiffelwho suggested using the reticular structure technique, giving life to the Statue of Liberty that we all know and admire today.
