Naviglio Grande in Porta Genova, Milan, Italy

The navigli (; lmo, Navili ) are a system of interconnected

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s in and around

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, in the Italian region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, dating back as far as the Middle Ages. The system consists of five canals:

Naviglio Grande The Naviglio Grande is a canal in Lombardy, northern Italy, connecting the Ticino river near Tornavento ( south of Sesto Calende) to the Porta Ticinese dock, also known as the ''Darsena'', in Milan. It drops over . It varies in width from from ...

Naviglio Pavese The Naviglio Pavese is one of the canals making up the Navigli system in Lombardy, Italy. Once navigable, it is long and connected the city of Milan to Pavia, and through a flight of six locks to the River Ticino. Construction started in 1564, b ...

Naviglio Martesana The Naviglio della Martesana ( lmo, Nivili de la Martexana or ''Martesanna'' ) is a canal in the Lombardy region, Northern Italy. Running from the Adda River, Italy, Adda river, in the vicinity of Trezzo sull'Adda, to Milan, it was also known as Na ...

, Naviglio di Paderno, Naviglio di Bereguardo. The first three were connected through Milan via the ''Fossa Interna'', also known as the Inner Ring. The urban section of the

was covered over at the beginning of the 1930s, together with the entire Inner Ring, thus sounding the death knell for the north-eastern canals. Commercial carrying continued on the Naviglio Grande, but the decline was steady and by the 1960s a project of a fluvial port to reach the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

and consequentially the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

through the canals was shelved for good. Today, the canals are mostly used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

. Some tourist navigation options are also available along certain sections.

References

External links

Martesana Canal
- Historic and present pictures
Inner ring
- Historic and present pictures
Darsena
- Historic and present pictures Canals in Lombardy Waterways of Italy Transport in Lombardy Tourist attractions in Milan {{Lombardy-geo-stub