VisitaMilano

 "Parco delle Cave" (Quarry Park)
Parco delle Cave is a public park within the Municipality of Milan: 135 hectares of green, immersed in the residential area of western Milan. It includes four lakes, forests, waterways, urban gardens, an agricultural area and old farmsteads. It is the fruit of the reclamation of a badly decayed area and it was created and is managed by the Italia Nostra Association.

 Boscaccio Lake
Lake Boscaccio extends for about 85 hectares and is reached by crossing a 1 km country road in Bonirola di Gaggiano. It is surrounded by a splendid park that conceals the originally artificial lake, recovered from a 70's quarry, and a typical Lombardy farmstead dating back to the 1700'S. A trail circles the lake. The Lake Boscaccio area holds educational activities, guided tours and bird watching run by the Lombardy ornithological group and is used for sports activities: athletics ("I colori del naviglio" half marathon), triathlon (International Lombardy Navigli Trophy) and even diving and swimming due to the limpid waters. The Boscaccio farmstead is an enchanting building, ideal for private and business receptions.

 Canale Villoresi
Irrigation canal that originates in Ticino: it takes the water from the river at the Pamperduto dam, in the town of Somma Lombardo, and after travelling 86 kilometres it flows into the Adda, in the town of Cassano d'Adda. The building work was started in 1881 and ended in 1891 from Eugenio Villoresi's project (his father Luigi was one of the key designers of the Villa park in Monza). A large part of the canal towpath was transformed into a cycle path and you can now reach the city of Monza fairly easily.

 Cava Sannovo
it is an area covering about 15,000 square meters in the town of Zibido S. Giacomo, in a sand and gravel quarry, provided by the South Milan Agricultural Park to re-introduce pond turtles, a particularly rare species in the Po river valley. It is a nursery where the species can reproduce to be later set free in other suitable park areas. The marsh turtle fauna area was opened in 2007 and visitors can observe the turtles in their natural environment. The area includes three ponds rich in fish and amphibians, the turtle's main source of food, and is covered by dense woodland.

 Darsena
The Darsena basin, a junction point in Milan's vast river and canal system, extends between Viale Gabriele D'Annunzio and Viale Gorizia. The Olona River (now covered) and the Naviglio Grande flow into it; the Naviglio Pavese and the Ticinello flow out of it. The basin was opened by the Spanish governor, Conte di Fuentes, in 1603 as a landing for barges and boats. The Darsena connects the external canals with the network of city canals, in their day favouring the development of commerce and crafts. Just a few metres from the city's former port, it's worth visiting the “Vicolo dei Lavandai” (Washerwoman's Lane), with its old stone washtubs covered by rustic wooden roofs.

 Fontanile Rile
due to its environmental aspects, the town of Settala can be considered one of the oldest and most interesting springs in the South Milan Agricultural Park. It includes 3 active springs surrounded by a well-preserved woods with various local tree species and a rich underbrush variety, shelter for many animal species. Recently, the Rile spring was proposed as a "Natural monumental area".

 Gerundo lake
This is a ford on the Adda river where tradition located Gerundo Lake, the vast marsh formed by the convergence of the Adda, Oglio and Serio rivers. Today it is believed to be a collection of marshes, swamps, lakes, sweet water rivers and ponds which progressively occupied the extended digression plane of the Adda during the anarchy of the regulation of the waters which took place during the late antiquity and up until the early Middle Ages.

 Incile
The inlet is the point at which one side of the Adda is "cut", giving rise to the Martesana canal. "Inlet" is in fact the term used for the point along a watercourse from which an irrigation canal or secondary watercourse branches off.

 Laghetto Gambarino
The Gambarino lake is named after the bordering canal. Located to the west of Milan, between the towns of Vernate and Rosate, behind the provincial road that connects Rosate with Coazzano di Vernate, it originated from the pebble and sand excavation required to build the provincial road. An artificial island stands in the center of the lake. The south shore is inaccessible to guarantee a safe bird shelter while the north shore is characterized by a small field and beach suited for picnics and educational activities.

 Lago Mulino di Cusico
Lake Mulino di Cusico, inaugurated in 2007, is part of the Carcana lakes, former quarry developing over the years into a site of natural interest with numerous animal and plant species. Three of the four lakes have been set up for fishing. Lake Mulino di Cusico was abandoned for so many years that a spontaneous woodlands grew, becoming an important shelter for many sedentary and migrating animals. A special feature of these lakes are the springs that guarantee water purity. The nearby hamlet of San Pietro Cusico is home to the white stork environmental station, managed by L.I.P.U. in association with the town of Zibido and the South Milan Agricultural Park. The station promotes the acclimatisation and repopulation of the sedentary white stork population and can only be visited in certain periods of the year.

 Lago/Oasi di Basiglio
The Basiglio lake, created from a quarry, like other artificial lakes, is deemed particularly interesting from the fauna standpoint, especially due to wintering aquatic birds. In fact, it is an area specially equipped for bird watching: as one of the most important wetlands from the naturalist standpoint, the growth of marsh vegetation ensure food resources and shelter for birds. The area includes concealed paths and observation towers that let the public observe the fauna without disturbing them.

 Manue' Lake
Manue' Lake is located within the forests of Cesate and represents one of the most precious and suggestive corners of the Groane Park: a pool that allows for the proliferation of a rich vegetation and the presence of various and rare animal species such as the triton, the Lataste frog among the amphibians; the woodpecker, the long-tailed tit, the owlet and the common owl among the birds. A circular trail and a wooden walkway allow for the site to be used.

 Martesana Canal
Based on the project by the hydraulic engineer Bertola da Novate, building began in 1457 of the canal that linked the Adda to the inner canal circuits. The merging of the city water in St. Mark's port took place in 1497 under Bartolomeo della Valle, perhaps with Leonardo Da Vinci as a consultant. This optimised the suburban canal network complex and also improved the entire internal navigation system. The Martesana route within the city of Milan has now almost completely disappeared. Exceptions include the short sections in Viale Padova and the points of entry at the Conca dell’Incoronata, between Via San Marco and Via Castelfidardo, a typical example of a “Vinciana” valley, called so because the idea to position the gateways at angles dates back to the genius Leonardo da Vinci, as testified in some drawings in the Atlantic Code. The idea of reclaiming the Naviglio della Martesana was made possible by the inauguration of a bicycle and pedestrian path in the 90's which, starting from Cassina de' Pomm, leads to Gorla, Precotto and Crescenzago.

 Naviglio Bereguardo
The Naviglio di Bereguardo is one of the manmade canals, originally used for internal navigation, which were excavated between the Late Middle Ages and 1800s in the Milan area. Started in 1420, most of it was built between 1457 and 1470, commissioned by Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan. It separates from the Naviglio Grande at Abbiategrasso and heads south, reaching Bereguardo at the Ticino Rive. Ships which from the Po, sailed up the first part of the Ticino, and wanted to reach Milan, had to be transferred over land to this canal, and then sailed up the Naviglio Grande to reach the city. Use of the canal started to decline in the 1800s, when Naviglio Pavese was completed, which, thanks to an elaborate system of locks, directly connects Milan with the Ticino, a short distance from where it flows into the Po. It currently operates as an irrigation canal.

 Naviglio Grande
It originates from the Ticino in Tornavento (the Paladella dyke): Commenced in 1177, the canal reached Milan in 1257 and was made navigable only from 1269. It is approximately 50 Km long, measures from 50 to 12 metres in width and is from 3.80 to 1 metre deep. Prior to the covering of the circle of the Navigli (1929-30), the goods barges could enter the city. The canal was an essential means for transporting the marbles used for building the Cathedral, which originated from Candoglia (Lago Maggiore). Nowadays along the banks of the Naviglio there are ancient glimpses of a Romantic Milan: balustrade houses, craft workshops, ancient washrooms covered with roofs laid on wooden beams.