The church of St. Charles

The creation of the church, dedicated to St. Charles, St. Sebastian, and St. Roch, saints traditionally invoked against the plague, dates back to a vow made by the inhabitants of Semogo in 1636 to stop the terrible epidemic that was spreading through the Bormio area.

Work began around 1640 and was completed within twenty years. The church's architecture, with a single nave, is essential; the only baroque note is the bulbous bell tower, erected in 1675. Initially, there were representations of Saints Roch and Sebastian on the façade, but unfortunately, they lost over the centuries.

Inside the church, on the main altar, there is a large 18th-century wooden panel decorated with a 17th-century painting by an unknown author from the parish church of Semogo. The canvas depicts St Charles praying before the Madonna and Child.

The 'most chaste' Carlo Borromeo (1538-1584) was particularly venerated in the Bormio area: an autograph letter of his, kept in the collegiate church in Bormio, was considered almost a relic. Several water springs in the area were dedicated to St Charles and were believed to have healing powers. One of these springs is located on the opposite side of the church, in the so-called Bosco del Conte. Legend has it that it was St. Charles himself who blessed the spring and made it miraculous; his footprint on the rock from which the water gushes is said to testify to this, although historically unconfirmed.

The church is only open and accessible to the public during religious celebrations.