The Naviglio Grande is a
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 ...
in
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 ...
, northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, connecting 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 . ...
river near Tornavento ( south of
Sesto Calende
Sesto Calende is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
It is at the southern tip of Lake Maggiore, where the Ticino River starts to flow towards the Po River. The main historical sight ...
) to the Porta Ticinese dock, also known as the ''Darsena'', in
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 ...
. It drops over . It varies in width from from Tornavento to
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 ...
, dropping to between there and
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 ...
. Initially it carries , 116 outlets take water to irrigate leaving the canal wide and carrying as it enters the dock.
History
The Naviglio Grande was the most important of the Milanese “
navigli”. Probably originating as a ditch dug in 1157 between
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 ...
and
Landriano
Landriano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about northeast of Pavia.
Landriano borders the following municipalities: Bascapè, Carpiano, Siziano, Torrev ...
as a defense against
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
, it was one of the largest medieval engineering projects, allowing development of commerce, transport and agriculture.
In 1177, construction began near Tornavento, but problems stopped work almost immediately. In 1179 however, a dam was constructed and water from the Ticino was directed towards
Turbigo
Turbigo (Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about west of Milan, along the Naviglio Grande canal. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,486 and an area of .
Tur ...
, Castelletto di Cuggiono,
Bernate and Boffalora reaching
Gaggiano
Gaggiano ( lmo, Gaggian or ''Gasgian'' ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,360 and an area of .All demographic ...
in 1233. This section, the “Navigium de Gazano” took over 50 years to dig by hand using only pickaxe and shovel. Prisoners from Turbigo were put to work in 1239 to increase the carrying capacity of the canal.
In 1258, the Naviglio Grande reached Milan. New taxes were levied to continue the digging, and although the work stopped again following opposition from the citizens and clergy, the whole canal was navigable from 1272, when the deepening and widening of the canal bed was completed by Giacomo Arribotti and the canal reached the bridge of
Sant'Eustorgio
The Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio is a church in Milan in northern Italy, which is in the Basilicas Park city park. It was for many years an important stop for pilgrims on their journey to Rome or to the Holy Land, because it was said to contain the ...
(now
Porta Ticinese
Porta Ticinese (formerly known as Porta Cicca, and during Napoleonic rule as Porta Marengo)Porta Cicca' (in Italian) is a former city gate of Milan, Italy. The gate, facing south-west, was first created with the Spanish walls of the city, in the 1 ...
).
Although intended mostly for irrigation, pontoons called ''cobbie'' quickly began using the canal to take salt, grain, wine, manufactured goods, fabric, tableware, manure and ash upriver to
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...
and Switzerland, bringing back livestock, cheese, hay, coal, lumber, sand, marble and granite. The small lake of Sant'Eustorgio was linked to the ''Fossa Interna'' (also known as the ''Cerchia Interna'' or Inner Ring) of Milan using a new system of two locks to control the water level, thereby allowing boats to reach Piazza Santo Stefano. This was to allow the canal to be used in transporting stone and marble for the
Duomo
''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition not ...
, whose construction started in 1386. This confirmed the canal to be the most valuable form of transport of Milan, and proved that the network could be expanded to serve the whole region, especially in transferring troops rapidly between defensive castles.
Between 1830 and the end of the century, traffic averaged 8,300 boats of all sizes coming and going, carrying per year. It peaked again during the second world war – with Allied planes bombing road and rail, water transport again became useful for transporting goods. The surge in activity continued after the war - in 1953 Porta Ticinese dock was the 13th largest in the country in terms of goods received. However, an increase in the value of goods and strong interests supporting road transport caused a rapid decline. During the sixties, the ''Fossa Interna'' was covered over and on March 30th 1979 the last cargo of sand was unloaded at the ''Darsena''. Since then the canal has been used only for its original purpose, irrigation.
Recently the ''Istituto per i Navigli'' has been campaigning for the return of navigation on the canal. The project, called ''From Switzerland to the Sea'' promotes the restoration of the canal as part of a long distance waterway linking
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...
(partly in Switzerland) to Venice (Italy).
External links
Associazione Navigli Live
Istituto per i Navigli / Associazione Amici dei Navigli
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061213162121/http://www.photographers.it/leonardobellotti/gallery/gallery.asp?categoryid=155 Galleria fotograficamostly photos of the 'Darsena' (the old docks in Milan)
{{coord, 45, 27, N, 9, 10, E, display=title, region:IT_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki
Geography of Milan
Canals in Lombardy
Waterways of Italy
Transport in Lombardy
Canals opened in 1272