Federico envisioned, perhaps as early as 1598, a Sacro Monte, or Holy Mountain, in memory of St. Charles and surmounted by the world's tallest statue.

The original plan foresaw the erection of fifteen chapels, following a pathway from the lake to the statue square, each depicting through sculptures and frescoes an important event in the life of the saint.

The statue was designed by Giovan Battista Crespi (known as Il Cerano), and erected by Siro Zanella of Pavia and Bernardo Falcone of Lugano.

Zanella and Falcone moulded the copper sheets and slightly modified the original project, making the statue larger.

A series of chapels was planned to document the life of the saint, forming a Sacro Monte for religious meditation and veneration.

«The copper is a little thin, measuring only a millimetre in thickness, and yet the whole work has stood until to-day, that is to say, for two centuries.»[1] The head and hands of the statue are in bronze.

Saint Charles is portrayed standing in his cassock, rochet and mozzetta as he blesses the town of Arona with his right hand while holding a book in his left arm.

The saint's blessing arm is a complex metal structure, specially constructed to resist the strong winds in this area.