The Bereguardo Canal () was a navigable

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 ...

, part of the

Navigli The navigli (; lmo, Navili ) are a system of interconnected canals in and around Milan, in the Italian region of Lombardy, dating back as far as the Middle Ages. The system consists of five canals: Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese, Naviglio Mart ...

system in

Lombardy, Italy 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 ...

. A secondary branch of the

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 ...

, it diverges at

Abbiategrasso Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso. (local lmo, Biegrass ; lmo, label=Milanese, Biaa ), is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately from Milan and f ...

, heading south to

Bereguardo Bereguardo ( Lombard: ''Balguàrt'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan and about northwest of Pavia. Bereguardo borders the following municipalities: Borgo Sa ...

(a distance of about ). The Naviglio di Bereguardo, along with the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio di Pavia, connect Milan to the

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, which then connects to the Po and eventually to the sea. The canals, called ''naviglio'' because they were navigable by boats, were an integral part of Milan's dominance over northern Italy, both as a means of transportation as well as agricultural irrigation and, eventually, hydraulic energy for manufacturing. Construction on the canal began in 1420 and was completed in 1470. The principal engineer was

Bertola da Novate Bertola is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adrianna Bertola (born 1999), English actress and singer * Catherine Bertola (born 1976), British artist *Ignazio Bertola, Italian military architect * Jean Bertola (1922–1989), Fren ...

(1410-1475), sponsored by

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'A ...

, who constructed the 18 pound locks. The

mitre gate A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...

, designed by da Novate, was a major improvement to the design of locks. Although da Novate was the first to introduce the concept in 1458, earlier drawings of the same design were done by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

References

Canals in Lombardy Waterways of Italy Transport in Lombardy {{Lombardy-geo-stub