The church of San Carlo arose on the site of several preexisting buildings, the last of which was the Oratory of Saints Philip and James Apostles, erected by Alberto Schiatti after the 1570 earthquake. The new temple was dedicated, as so many were in the early 1600s, to Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, and the construction was entrusted to Giovanni Battista Aleotti, known as l’Argenta. his aspirations were Palladio, Serlio, the Vignola, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante. The church turned out to be revolutionary in the city, both for its elliptical plan, typical of the protobaroque architectural language, and for its interior decoration. Of notable interest is the ceiling fresco – painted by Giuseppe Avanzi of Ferrara, assisted by Giuseppe Menegatti – depicting the Madonna in Glory and Saints Charles Borromeo and Maurelius. The church, closed due to damage caused by the 2012 earthquake, was opened for the 2017 edition of open monuments.