THE HERITAGE OF

LOMBARDYS CANALS

World Canals Conference

Milan 1 - 4 Sept. 2014
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 Naviglio di Paderno

Naviglio Martesana

Naviglio Grande

Naviglio di Bereguardo
Naviglio Pavese

The Navigli system

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history
The history of the Lombard Canals or Navigli is long and varied

and goes back as far as the 12th Century with the groundwork

for the construction of the Naviglio Grande (1179) and come to

an end in 1819 with the confluence of the Naviglio Pavese into

the River Ticino.

The canals are: Naviglio Grande (1179), Naviglio di Bereguardo (1457),

Naviglio Martesana (1463), Naviglio Pavese (1819) and Naviglio di Paderno (1516-1777).

Contributions have been made over the centuries by the Visconti and

Sforza Houses of Milan, Leonardo da Vinci, Maria Theresa of Austria

and Napoleone Bonaparte.

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It was in Milanese area , in the twelfth century, that
the Benedictines carried out the first "environmental
redevelopment plan" in Europe, using the water of the
springs and rationalizing its use.

The development of agricultural production through

more extensive irrigation in that part of the territory
affected by the phenomenon of resurgence, the chance
to reclaim the many wetlands and not least the
substantial economic benefits from the ability to
leverage the transport of goods by water aroused soon
the interest of the State of Milan. Since the Middle
Ages, it took its own resources to build a system of
canals, Navigli, which crosses the whole territory and
to guarantee the capital Milan easy connections
through the rivers Ticino and Adda located
respectively, to the west and east of the city, to areas
characterized by intense trade as Switzerland, the
Valtellina and Pavia in the north and south of the river
Po

Ambone di SantAmbrogio, part., Milano, Basilica di SantAmbrogio

Stemma dei Torriani, XIII sec., 5
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Naviglio Grande (1179-1257)

The first canal to be excavated was the

Naviglio Grande; built - thanks to
contributions of traders and farmers
(including the families of Torian and Abbiati
whose fat richness gave the name to the
town of Abbiategrasso) that paid in
exchange for the use of water, with a path
length of about 50 kilometers from the city
of Tornavento along the Ticino river to
Milan.

Devoid of locks to overcome the differences

in height, it was the only one to be achieved
through simple slope of the land

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It was build in three steps:

the first till the city of Trezzano in

1187,

the second in 1211, to the gates of

Milan at the Bridge of S. Eustorgio in
1253 up to Gaggiano,

the third was built in 1257 and placed

permanently in communication with
the Verbano and the Ticino area and
the city of Milan.

In 1272 the canal was crossed by boats

carrying timber, hay, cheese, livestock,
marble and granite, salt, iron, grain
and miscellaneous manufacturing.

Domenico Aspari, La citt assediata dallImperatore Federico Barbarossa nel 1157, in A. Fumagalli, Le vicende di Milano,
1778, Milano, Civica Raccolta Stampe Bertarelli
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Milano nei secoli bassi, Milan 1878, Civica Raccolta Stampe Bertarelli 8
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Naviglio Martesana (1457-1463)

In the second half of the fifteenth

century, at a time of great expansion
of well irrigation network, the
Martesana Canal was then made
(begun by Francesco Sforza in 1457)
and completed in a few years,
connecting Milan to river Adda and
the Como Lake.

Shortly after it started, by the will of

Francesco Sforza (since 1516) and
thanks to his donation, the Paderno
Canal, whose short distance parallel
to the Adda was to enable the
seamless navigation from Lecco to
Milan.

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The work for Martesana astonished by

the boldness of the bed of the canal dug

in the hillside, the slope of the stream,

followed by the line drawn along the

right bank of the Adda and the geological

dividing line of dry land and irrigation.

The numerous water projects scattered

along its path, the result of solitary

geniuses but also the traditional

technique of hydraulic Lombard school,

enabling the ships to provide, across the

board, use irrigation, transport and

driving force for hydraulic factories.

Naviglio Martesana and Adda river at Concesa

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Naviglio Bereguardo (1457)
The idea was suggested by the track of the so
called "Fosson Morto" - an old channel for linking
the Ticinello and the Ticino river in the vicinity of
Fallavecchia House - and that of Tolentina Canal,
which is already navigable. Some historians fix,
however, the date of completion in 1457, the
draft from Novate Bertola (decree of the Duke
Francesco Sforza) times the original idea (more
secure and discreet) leery of Filippo Maria
Visconti to connect the ducal castles by water.

The Naviglio Bereguardo was then used primarily

for transportation of salt, coming from Venice on
the Po and the Ticino (after a brief stretch in the
transhipment of wagons in the area of Ticino-
Bereguardo at Pissarello).

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Paderno Canal (1516-1777)
Francesco the First donated 10.000
gold ducats to Milan for the opening
of a canal that permitted to navigate
till the banks of the Como Lake
connecting the Adda River with the
inner circle of canals in Milan already
affected by trade and trafficking of
Martesana.
The architect and painter Giuseppe
Meda designed the layout of the new
terraced canal on the right bank of the
Adda river. He worked there mind
and arms, trying to overcome the drop
(about 33 meters) and the unstable
nature of the ground.
In 1776, the architect Nosetti, decided
to distribute the water drop among six
locks instead of two as originally
imagined by Meda, in the area
between the two extremes of the
Sasso di San Michele and the Valle
della Rocchetta.
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Naviglio Pavese (1819)

The Naviglio Pavese, as we know it today,

in part follows the route of the ancient
Navigliaccio.
Works about the construction of the New
Naviglio di Pavia were contracted under
the direction of the Napoleonic
Committee on Water and Roads (1805),:
commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte,
but completed by the Austrians, in 1819
after that the restoration occurred
(Congress of Vienna, 1815).
The work saw the last part of the valley
(spectacular hydraulic works in the linear
sequence) permanently joining the entire
ring canals of Lombardy with the auction
of the rivers Adda and Ticino.
The new project of the canal returned the
waters of the river Ticino, in Pavia after a
distance of 35 km.

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Before arriving in Milan in 1482, Leonardo

wrote to Ludovico Il Moro, stating that he

knew how to conduct water from one

location to another. As he was leaving for

the capital of the duchy, he bore with himself

certain instruments for Canals.

Just as any engineer called to court would

have done, Leonardo prepared himself a list

of the things he needed to do, to see, and to

verify in Milan:
Joseph and Mary with Jesus, before the city of Jerusalem.
Cristoforo De Predis, a detail from Leggendario libro della fine
del mondo, 1476, Turin, Biblioteca Reale.
Closed within its circle of canals, Milan

utilized the defensive moat system, Measurement of Milan and the villages.

constructed between 1157 and 1158, to Measurement of the Castle.

Measurement of the canal, the basins and supports, and the larger boats, and the cost.
irrigate fields, for the movement of hydraulic
Find a master of water, and have him tell you the remedies against this, and what it costs.
wheels, and for navigation.
A shelter, a basin, a canal, and a mill, Lombard-style.
At the time Leonardo arrived in Milan, the
A nephew of Gian Angelo, the painter, has a book of waters, which was his fathers.
moat was in the process of changing into a
Pagolino, called Assiolo, is a good master of waters.
circular port, a commercial channel for use

between the city and the outer suburbs.

A list of things to remember, to do, to find out, from
Leonardo da Vincis, Codex Atlanticus, f. 661a r. Milan,
Biblioteca Ambrosiana. 21
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Surveying of the Water Courses
There were many small rivers that crossed the city, as Bonvesin

de la Riva described in the thirteenth century:

situated in a beautiful, rich, and fertile plain [] equidistant

between two marvelous rivers, the Ticino and the Adda.

Leonardo surveyed a tract of the Nirone before its diversion at

the Ponte dellArchetto. This was the location of the Vettabbia

lock, a canal dating back to Roman times, along which were many

mills and hydraulic wheels.

On the same folio, Leonardo noted his reflections on the utility of

the science of waters.

There were many primary lands in the province,

positioned upon their primary rivers, that were
consumed and destroyed by these rivers []. And
the science of water will give precise knowledge for
remedying this.
Adda river and the Paderno canal

In 1480, a few years before Leonardo arrived in Milan, the

Florentine Giovanni Ridolfi highlighted the industriousness of the

city, its excellent artisanship [] in every art. It was filled with

hydraulic wheels, which were used for fulling textiles, preparing Survey of the River Nirone, from Leonardo da
Vincis, Codex Atlanticus f. 831 r, Milano,
paper, sawing lumber, striking metal, grinding grain. Biblioteca Ambrosiana
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The Naviglio Grande and its
Mouths
Before proceeding, first I will undertake
some experiments, noted Leonardo, when
he decided to apply himself to improving the
hydraulic works. Among the canals of Milan,
the one to which Leonardo dedicated the
greatest attention was the Naviglio Grande
(Grand Canal), which was constructed and
extended to Milan between the second half
of the twelfth century and the second half of
the thirteenth century.

The Canal is worth 50 gold ducats, it

produces 125 thousand ducats a year, and it
is 40 miles long [71.4 km] and 20 braccia
wide [11.9 m], observed Leonardo, in
synthesizing the economical and technical
characteristics of the Canal, before
developing his hydraulic notes on the
quantities of water produced from the
bocche, mouths.

The Canal of San Cristoforo, from Leonardo da Vinci,

Irrigation water was paid for, even during Codex Atlanticus, f. 831 r. Milan,
Leonardos time. Thus, it was fundamental to Biblioteca Ambrosiana
resolve the problem of making the ounces of
water effectively produced correspond to
the price that was paid for these. 23
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The Role of the Martesana

In 1457, the duke Francesco Sforza ordered

the construction of a canal on the east side
of the duchy, in symmetry with the Naviglio
Grande, to bring the waters of the Adda to
Milan.
Excavated from the base rock along the right
bank of the river, the Martesana Canal was
constructed by Bertola da Novate in just 7
years (1457- 1463).
[] when the Martesana Canal was made,
this diminished the waters of the Adda,
which are now distributed throughout many San Cristoforos Canal, from Leonardo da Vinci,
Codex Atlanticus, f. 831 r. Milan,
villages, in service of the fields. Biblioteca Ambrosiana

From Castello di Trezzo on the Adda, the

river waters make their way to Cassano
dAdda, turn toward Milan, and flow into the
Seveso, increasing the volume of the waters
in the moats around Milan.

The territory between the Rivers Adda and

Brembo, 13th century,Venice, Archivio di Stato
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The Martesana Canal
and its Spillways
Leonardo displayed a great interest for
works of practical hydraulics, especially for
the constructions of the Canals and the
resistance of their banks.

His interest is obvious in his design for the

Martesana Canal, in which he depicts one of
the spillways used for the canal to return
waters to the river during low flow.
No canal that flows out of rivers will last if
the water of the river from which it arises is
not completely enclosed, as in the
Martesana Canal and the one that flows out
of the Ticino [the Naviglio Grande]. The Adda and the Martesana at the Rocca di Concesa, by
Leonardo da Vinci, RL 12399, Windsor, Royal Library
Codex Atlanticus, f. 184 v.

River Adda from Brivio to Trezzo,

1753. Milan, Archivio di Stato.

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The Paderno Canal
The second hypothesis for the extension of
the navigational route from Lago di Como
to Trezzo sullAdda is indicated in a splendid
view of the middle valley of the river, from
the lake to the beginning of the Martesana,
where Leonardo drew a short canal in
correspondence with the Gola di Paderno.
Have a concavity be made in the Tre Corni,
where the wall stands,
closing the water.
Codex Atlanticus, f. 388 v.

Leonardo designed another canal before the

river bends at Trezzo sullAdda, which
diverted toward the Milanese plain, for
irrigating a broad territory north of the
Martesana.

Planimetry of a section of the River Adda, from Leonardo da Vincis ,

Codex Atlanticus, f. 911 r. Milan,
Biblioteca Ambrosiana. 26
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The Ferry between
While a guest at the villa of his favorite Vaprio and Canonica
pupil, Francesco Melzi, located at the
heights of Vaprio dAdda, Leonardo
designed the ferry of La Canonica, with a
cord extended between the two banks, to
be drawn across the river with a load of
livestock.
The drawing can be dated between 1509 The ferry between Vaprio and Canonica, by Leonardo
da Vinci, RL 12400, Windsor,Royal Library
and 1511; it also represents the junction of
the Brembo with the Adda, the dike, and
the outlet for the artificial canal of Vailate
(c. 1474) for the irrigation of the Pontirolo
district.

Two centuries later, the painters Gaspar

van Wittel and Bernardo Bellotto drew and
painted the port between Canonica and
Vaprio dAdda, with the analytical and
objective style typical of painters of
vedutas. During the eighteenth century,
this port became one of the stopping points
on the Grand Tour.
Bernardo Bellotto, Vaprio and Canonica north-
westwards, c. 1744. Milan, private collection.
- Leonardo, Uomo Vitruviano, 1490, tecnica mista su carta,
cm.34x24. Venezia, Gallerie dell'Accademia
- Leonardo, The Virgin of the rocks, 1483-1485, Parigi, Muse du
Louvre
Milan in Representation

During Leonardos first stay in Milan (1482-1499),

Leonardo drew a suggestive map of the city: for the
very first time, the tract of the Martesana Canal
between Porta Nuova and Piazza San Marco appeared
on the map of Milan

Leonardo made notations regarding the city gates of

Milan, with indications of their distances from the
Strada Nova and the Porta Cumana. The notations also
included the Martesana Canal. The lower part of the
folio presents a suggestive aerial view of the city,
showing the main buildings. Among these, we see the
Castello Sforzesco and the cathedral, under
construction

Map of Milan, from Leonardo da

Vincis, Codex Atlanticus,
f. 199 v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana. 30
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The duchys waterway system, with its

small ports and its depots, permitted Milan

to receive at low cost the various materials

in arrival: stone, lime, grain, iron, and

especially lumber, compensating for the

lack of any large river. Leonardo made

observations and surveys relating to the

water vessels on the canals.

The largest boats made are 71/2 braccia

wide [4.5 m] and 42 braccia long [25 m],

with sides 11/2 braccia high [0.9 m].

The boats needed to be solid in order to be

able to transport the precious Candoglia

marble used for the cathedral. The marble

arrived from Lago Maggiore via water, until

Laghetto di Santo Stefano, where it was

then unloaded using a special winch called

a falcone.

Anonymous, The Falcone at Laghetto di Santo Stefano, Angelo Inganni, Veduta sulla piazza del Duomo con il coperto dei Figini, 1838.Milan,
19th century Civiche Raccolte Storiche
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Leonardo did not limit his interests to indicating the new

connection between the Martesana Canal and the moats of

Milan in his city map. In fact, he pointed out the necessity of

extending the Canal to the ring, suggesting also the way to

realize the work, with private financing, and that the work

would be finally ceded to the duchy:

So, Sir, there are many gentlemen who will arrange among

themselves to provide for the intervention regarding the

waters,

and a mill over the Canals; and when their financing shall have

been repaid them, they will deliver the Canal of Martesana.

Codex Leicester, f. 15 r.

Hatch of a lock, with movable wings,

from Leonardo da Vincis,
Codex Atlanticus, f. 656a-r. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana. 32
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Perfecting the Locks

Based on his observations and surveys of the locks used in

Milan, Leonardo described (or projected?) some

improvements, such as the design for the graduated levels and

introducing a hatch below, to be included in the corner doors.

The system for opening the hatch and the large doors was

activated from land, and it is described in detail in Leonardos

drawings and notes.

It is necessary to connect the Canals that do not tend to flow

Perfecting a lock, from Leonardo da Vincis, Codex
forward to low places, to where the water falls through the Atlanticus,
f. 935 v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana

hatch of lock. Then, when the water arrives there, it will fall

through this hatch among the other water, then fall into the

boat and immediately fill it and submerge it.

(right) The ancient Lock of LIncoronata, Milan

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Details of the Hatch
Leonardo describes the details of the

construction of the lower hatch: an off-

center hinge he designed would make sure

that the hatch would open gradually under

the pressure of the water. The hatch is

activated by a deadbolt that can be operated

from above, better permitting a regulation of

the water pressure on the doors of the locks,

which were in continuous action during the

passage of water vessels.

Leonardo had already made studies of locks Hatch for the lock, from Leonardo da Vincis, Codex
Atlanticus, f. 408 v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
during his earliest years in Milan, during his

visits to Pavia, and in his observations of the

locks of the Bereguardo Canal, which diverts

from the Naviglio Grande at Abbiategrasso. Detail of the hatch of the Lock of 34
LIncoronata, Milan
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Canals and Mills
Besides his studies and observations in regard to land reclaiming,
hydraulics, and irrigation, Leonardos notes confirm his interest
for the operation of mills and the canals that propelled them.

These drawings probably date from 1493-1494, when Leonardo

was at Vigevano.

His notes include calculations about the yields of the mills,

expense estimates for various parts, and sketches of gears
intended to improve the mechanical operation.

Leonardo recorded some of the many applications, besides

agriculture, for which mills could be used, such as in the
production of textiles or in the manufacturing of gunpowder.

Multiple cylinder mill, from Leonardo da Vincis,

Codex Atlanticus, f. 830c v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

View from the Sforzesca, one of the model farms that Ludovico Il
Moro wanted built in the territory around Vigevano.
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After Leonardos death, his studies and proposals

for the Canals were taken up again by other

engineers.

The Paderno Canal was projected by Giuseppe

Meda, the highly capable engineer, during the

second half of the sixteenth century. The numerous

technical and economical problems interrupted the

works, however, around the end of the century.

The work was terminated in 1777 through the

initiatives of the Austrian government.

The Pavese Canal was an ambitious project that

intended to connect Pavia and Milan, though it was

required to negotiate a significant change in ground

levels. It was in 1564 and was interrupted a few

years later, at the level of the Conca Fallata. In

1805, during the Napoleonic era, the project was

resumed, to be finally inaugurated in 1819.

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The Covering of the Canals
During the nineteenth century, with the arrival of railroads and the
subsequent invention of internal combustion engines,
transportation on rails and on roads was facilitated, which resulted
in an increasing diminution of the importance of the canals as a
system of transportation and communication.

The inner canal network in Milan began to raise worries about

hygiene because of its putrid waters. After it ceased being a
privileged transportation route, it even became a sort of obstacle
to the expansion of the city.

In 1857, the Laghetto di Santo Stefano was filled in by orders of the

emperor Franz Joseph. The filling in of the inner canal excavation
was begun at the end of the century and completed between 1929
and 1930.

Finally, between 1951 and 1968, the tract of the Martesana Canal
within the city was covered over, along via Melchiorre Gioia all the The covering over of the inner canal excavation, in 1929-1930 in Milan, via Senato.

way to the Cassina de Pomm.

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In the late Roman period, Milan had certainly a defensive

moat around the walls massiminianee, fed by streams

from Seveso and Groane. It drained in Vettabbia, which,

according to some historians, was the first navigable canal

(vectabilis) from Milan to the Po, Via Lambro.

The city, also during the medieval period, had its moat,

several times destroyed by wars with Barbarossa and

definitively settled between 1155 and 1171 by Guglielmo

Guintellino, in the form it held until 1929, when the ring of

canals was finally covered.

Already in 1211 the Naviglio Grande arrived in

Sant'Eustorgio, however, it was made navigable only in

1272, after the work of widening and lowering of the fund

took the mayor of Milan.

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When the construction of the Cathedral of Milan
began in 1386, Gian Galeazzo Visconti gave
as a perpetual fief of the Veneranda
Fabbrica del Duomo quarries at the mouth
of the Toce Candoglia on Lake Maggiore: the
marbles were brought by water to the lake of
Sant 'Eustorgio and then land up and brought
by carriages to the cathedral.

In 1439, the construction of the basin of the

Cathedral of Nostra Signora, overcame the
gap between the dock and the inner circle
until the "lake" of Santo Stefano: the basin at
the beginning of via Arena (then called
Viarenna basin), carried the boats to the "pit"
which later was called ring of canals, with a
canal connecting the Naviglio degli Olocati.

In 1496, also Naviglio Martesanas ships arrive at

San Marco, in the inner circle so that it
becomes fully navigable.

Arturo Ferrari, Il Laghetto dellOspedale, Collezione privata

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Along the ring of canals a lot of buildings

and palaces

embellished and endowed with small

docks, furthermore grew up numerous

"sciostre" - sites for loading and

unloading of goods.

In 1819 the dock was enlarged by the

the opening of the canal Navigli o

Pavese , and again in 1919, after the

demolition of the spur the Spanish

walls.

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The ring of canals was covered in 1929

and finally buried around the sixties of last

century to stability problems of the road

above.

Signs of the presence of the waterway

within the city still remain: in appearing

ofsome gardens on the road, (Via Visconti

di Modrone and via Senato), in the shape

of the openings of the old "sciostre" (Via

Molino delle Armi), in the old medieval

Porta Ticinese, etc.

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The canals were the protagonists
reconstruction of Milan in the second
Postwar as access routes available for heavy
loads since roads, bridges and railways were
severely damaged by bombing.

And its interesting to note that in 1959 the

dock of Milan Darsena was the third
tonnage port in Italy for goods exchanged.

Not surprisingly, despite the multiplicity of

owners and managers who have succeeded in
the past nine centuries until at least the late
'50s, the
ships have always not only produced the
resources necessary to sustain its cleaning,
maintenance and management, but for the
construction and expansion and many of its
network hydraulic works that "populate" the
appliances channels.

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The urban landscape
overlooking the ring
of canals is still
perfectly readable,
although some
interventions of the
postwar period, and
the entire path of the
circle, is one of the
places that
characterize the city.

Conca di via Senato in Milan -

Conca dellIncoronata in Milan
Il Naviglio di Porta Venezia sotto la neve di Angelo Inganni
(source) I Navigli da Milano lungo i canali Ed. Celip 2002 pagg. 58-59

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Milan Conche di Via Vallone

Milan Via Vallone

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Milan - Via San Damiano Milan - Via S. Marco

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Milan - Darsena
Naviglio Grande in Milan

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