Naviglio della Martesana

The Martesana was built at the orders of Filippo Maria Visconti between 1457-60 with the initial purpose of providing irrigation water to increase agricultural yields; it was later decided to use it as a method of communication with the Adda valley, Bergamo and Brescia. To overcome the rise of 20 metres between Milan and the river Adda, Leonardo da Vinci improved the system of locks and natural basins: over a distance of almost 40 kilometres, the waters of the Adda were taken from Trezzo to the city, then into the Scaricatore canal, and from there into the Redefossi canal that joined the river Lambro south of Milan. From the second half of the 17th century, the Martesana did not represent a trading and agricultural reality and its banks were lined with the country residences of wealthy Milanese. There were many splendid villas including Villa Alari Visconti, Villa Uboldo, Villa Biancani at Cernusco, Villa Rey at Anzago and Villa Castelbarco at Vaprio. Navigation on the canal began to fall off in the 20th c. In 1933, the stretch between Via Castelfidardo to Via Melchiorre Gioia in the city was covered over and those parts of the canal in Milan that were uncovered were neglected. Now that a cycling route has been opened along the towpath from Milan to Casano d'Adda, it is possible to explore Martesana. The locks, control buildings and elegant villas today represent a page in Milanese history.