THE HERITAGE OF LOMBARDY’S CANALS

World Canals Conference Milan 1 - 4 Sept. 2014

Claudio Repossi Navigli Lombardi

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The Navigli system

Naviglio Grande

Naviglio Martesana

Naviglio Pavese Naviglio di Bereguardo

Naviglio di Paderno

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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.

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.

The canals are: Naviglio Grande (1179), Naviglio di Bereguardo (1457), Naviglio Martesana (1463), Naviglio Pavese (1819) and Naviglio di Paderno (1516-1777).

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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 Sant’Ambrogio, part., Milano, Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio Stemma dei Torriani, XIII sec.,

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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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Domenico Aspari, La città assediata dall’Imperatore Federico Barbarossa nel 1157, in A. Fumagalli, Le vicende di Milano, 1778, Milano, Civica Raccolta Stampe Bertarelli

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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.

“Milano nei secoli bassi”, Milan 1878, Civica Raccolta Stampe Bertarelli

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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.

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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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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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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:

Closed within its circle of canals, Milan

utilized the defensive moat system,

constructed between 1157 and 1158, to

irrigate fields, for the movement of hydraulic

wheels, and for navigation.

At the time Leonardo arrived in Milan, the

moat was in the process of changing into a

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 Vinci’s, Codex Atlanticus, f. 661a r. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

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.

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“Measurement of Milan and the villages.

Measurement of the Castle.

Measurement of the canal, the basins and supports, and the larger boats, and the cost.

Find a master of water, and have him tell you the remedies against this, and what it costs.

A shelter, a basin, a canal, and a mill, Lombard-style.

A nephew of Gian Angelo, the painter, has a book of waters, which was his father’s.

Pagolino, called Assiolo, is a good master of waters.”

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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 dell’Archetto. 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.”

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

paper, sawing lumber, striking metal, grinding grain.”

Survey of the River Nirone, from Leonardo da Vinci’s, Codex Atlanticus f. 831 r, Milano, Biblioteca Ambrosiana

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Adda river and the Paderno canal

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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.”

Irrigation water was paid for, even during

Leonardo’s time. Thus, it was fundamental to

resolve the problem of making the ounces of

water effectively produced correspond to

the price that was paid for these.

The Canal of San Cristoforo, from Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, f. 831 r. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana

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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

villages, in service of the fields.”

From Castello di Trezzo on the Adda, the

river waters make their way to Cassano

d’Adda, 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

San Cristoforo’s Canal, from Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, f. 831 r. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana

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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].”

Codex Atlanticus, f. 184 v.

The Adda and the Martesana at the Rocca di Concesa, by Leonardo da Vinci, RL 12399, Windsor, Royal Library

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 sull’Adda 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 sull’Adda, 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 Vinci’s , Codex Atlanticus, f. 911 r. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

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The Ferry between Vaprio and Canonica While a guest at the villa of his favorite

pupil, Francesco Melzi, located at the

heights of Vaprio d’Adda, 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

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 d’Adda, 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.

The ferry between Vaprio and Canonica, by Leonardo da Vinci, RL 12400, Windsor,Royal Library

Bernardo Bellotto, Vaprio and Canonica north-westwards, c. 1744. Milan, private collection.

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- Leonardo, “Uomo Vitruviano”, 1490, tecnica mista su carta, cm.34x24. Venezia, Gallerie dell'Accademia - Leonardo, “The Virgin of the rocks”, 1483-1485, Parigi, Museé du Louvre

Milan in Representation During Leonardo’s 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 Vinci’s, Codex Atlanticus, f. 199 v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana. 30

The duchy’s 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.”

Angelo Inganni, “Veduta sulla piazza del Duomo con il coperto dei Figini”, 1838.Milan, Civiche Raccolte Storiche

Anonymous, The Falcone at Laghetto di Santo Stefano, 19th century

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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 Vinci’s, Codex Atlanticus, f. 656a-r. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

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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 Leonardo’s

drawings and notes.

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

forward to low places, to where the water falls through the

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 L’Incoronata”, Milan

Perfecting a lock, from Leonardo da Vinci’s, Codex Atlanticus, f. 935 v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana

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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

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 L’Incoronata”, Milan

Hatch for the lock, from Leonardo da Vinci’s, Codex Atlanticus, f. 408 v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

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Canals and Mills

Besides his studies and observations in regard to land reclaiming,

hydraulics, and irrigation, Leonardo’s 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.

View from the Sforzesca, one of the model farms that Ludovico Il Moro wanted built in the territory around Vigevano.

Multiple cylinder mill, from Leonardo da Vinci’s, Codex Atlanticus, f. 830c v. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

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After Leonardo’s 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

way to the Cassina de’ Pomm.

The covering over of the inner canal excavation, in 1929-1930 in Milan, via Senato.

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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 Martesana’s ships arrive at

San Marco, in the inner circle so that it

becomes fully navigable.

Arturo Ferrari, Il Laghetto dell’Ospedale, 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 it‘s 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 - “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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Conca dell’Incoronata in Milan

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Milan – Via Vallone

Milan – Conche di Via Vallone

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Milan - Via San Damiano Milan - Via S. Marco

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Naviglio Grande in Milan Milan - Darsena

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