Chapel of Saint Charles Borromeo

The small chapel — or semi-public oratory — dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo is located in Via Valente, in the Chiararis district of Qualso, and is attached to a residential building. 

It is accessed through a narrow atrium with a round arch, in whose right corner a stone holy water font is set into the wall, bearing the date 1702 and the initials P.L.F. A small bell gable rises from the roof. 

The chapel, commissioned by Father Carlo Luchini, a native of Qualso and parish priest of Risano, was originally dedicated to the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, as documented in a record from 1673. 

From the Pastoral Visit of 1736 we learn that the title was later changed to Saint Charles. It is likely that the heirs, wishing to honour Father Carlo — known for his particular devotion to the saint — altered the dedication in memory of the benefactor who had desired the chapel and placed on the altar a painting depicting Saint Charles, visible until the 1976 earthquake. 

The original Marian dedication is further confirmed by a fresco discovered behind the wooden altar painted in faux marble, revealed after the damage caused by the 1976 earthquake. 

The fresco depicts the Madonna holding the Child, with an apple in her left hand. Stylistic analysis suggests a date nearly a century earlier than the construction of the oratory and points to Gian Paolo Thanner as its likely author.