Canale Villoresi is a canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 in Italy; it was the brainchild of Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

 engineer Eugenio Villoresi.

It originates from the River Ticino near the village of Somma Lombardo

Somma Lombardo

Somma Lombardo is a town and comune in the province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on June 16, 1959.The airline Neos has its head office in the city.-External links:* *...

, and runs westwards for 86 km to the Adda River

Adda River

The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...

.

Construction began in 1877, but Villoresi himself died two years later. The works were completed in 1890 by a consortium.

Irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 was the canal's main reason for being but the addition of lock

Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats 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 level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...

s enabled cargoes of sand to be carried along it.

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