VisitaMilano

 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.

 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.

 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.

 Naviglio Martesana
A canal 38 kilometers long that extends over a densely populated area.Thanks to the Martesana, in the past, provisions and building materials from Bergamo arrived in Milan along with iron taken from the mines of Alto Lario.

 The Muzza canal
Branching off from the right bank of the Adda, the Muzza Canal starts in Cassano slightly upstream from Castello Borromeo and returns to the river in the municipality of Castiglione d’Adda, in the province of Lodi. Flowing for forty kilometres, it is considered the largest irrigation canal in Europe and is still an important resource for Lombardy farming. Originating from a dead branch of the river which was already, in Roman times, used to irrigate the fields, it was improved and lengthened from 1220 onwards when Emperor Frederick II granted the people of Lodi permission to use the water. It appears that it was the founder of the ducal dynasty of Milan, Ottone Visconti, who charted its course close to the castle, probably as a means of defence.

 Via Idro lungo il Naviglio Martesana
The area just beyond the Crescenzago district used to be watered by irrigation channels and springs and consisted of fields and rural settlements. At the point where the Martesana intersects the river Lambro stands the Lambro farmstead, a complex that is now in a poor state of repair but which still preserves the features a rural house with a courtyard. Near via Lazzaretto, which takes its name from a refuge for plague victims built by Cardinal Borromeo, there is a small portico, similar to a wash house, in which various objects ("carabattole" in Milanese dialect) recovered during canal maintenance work are collected.