The Naviglio Martesana 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 the 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...

 region, Northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Running from 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...

, in the vicinity of Trezzo sull'Adda

Trezzo sull'Adda

Trezzo sull'Adda is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northeast of Milan on the Adda River.The Naviglio Martesana canal starts from the Adda in Trezzo's territory....

, to Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, it was also known as Naviglio Piccolo. It is part of the system of navigli

Navigli

The navigli was a system of navigable and interconnected canals around Milan, Italy.The system consisted of five canals: Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese, Naviglio Martesana, Naviglio di Paderno, Naviglio di Bereguardo. The first three were connected through Milan via the Fossa Interna, also known...

 of the Milan area.

Approximately 38 kilometres long, with a substantial section covered over or infilled, its width varies between 9 and 18 metres, while the depth is between one and three metres.

Originally named Naviglio Piccolo, it subsequently changed to Martesana from the name of the county across which it runs.

Along the way it crosses the boundaries of the villages of Trezzo sull'Adda

Trezzo sull'Adda

Trezzo sull'Adda is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northeast of Milan on the Adda River.The Naviglio Martesana canal starts from the Adda in Trezzo's territory....

, Vaprio d'Adda

Vaprio d'Adda

Vaprio d'Adda is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northeast of Milan....

, Cassano d'Adda

Cassano d'Adda

Cassano d'Adda is a town and comune in the province of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the province of Milan and the province of Bergamo.-History:...

, Inzago

Inzago

Inzago is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 25 km northeast of Milan....

, Bellinzago Lombardo

Bellinzago Lombardo

Bellinzago Lombardo is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 25 km northeast of Milan.Bellinzago Lombardo borders the following municipalities: Gessate, Inzago, Gorgonzola, Pozzuolo Martesana....

, Gessate

Gessate

Gessate is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 25 km northeast of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,496 and an area of 7.8 km²....

, Gorgonzola

Gorgonzola

Gorgonzola is a comune in the province of Milan, part of Lombardy, northern Italy. Once a rural community, and famous for the cheese which bears its name, today it forms part of the Milanese conurbation and has three stops on the Milan Metro.- History :...

, Bussero

Bussero

Bussero is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 15 km northeast of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,589 and an area of 4.6 km²....

, Cassina de' Pecchi

Cassina de' Pecchi

Cassina de' Pecchi is a town and comune in the province of Milan, in Lombardy. The comune is bounded by other communes of Cernusco sul Naviglio, Bussero, Gorgonzola, Melzo and Vignate....

, Cernusco sul Naviglio

Cernusco sul Naviglio

Cernusco sul Naviglio is a town and comune in the province of Milan, Lombardy, Italy.-History:Until the 19th century the town was known as Cernusco Asinario, from the tomb of the Roman functionary Caius Asinius found in its territory...

 and Vimodrone

Vimodrone

Vimodrone is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 14 km northeast of Milan...

, and gives the name Martesana to all this area.
The canal enters Milan alongside Via Padova until Cassina de' Pomm: at the junction with Via Melchiorre Gioia it disappears underground following the route of Via Melchiorre Gioia itself southwards. In the past it would have passed through the Fossa dell'Incoronata and the Laghetto di San Marco to connect with the Fossa Interna (or Inner Ring). Today, after merging with the river Seveso

Seveso River

The Seveso is a 55 km Italian river, which flows through the provinces of Como, Monza e Brianza and Milan. It rises on Sasso di Cavallasca or Monte Sasso of Cavallasca, near San Fermo della Battaglia...

, the underground course becomes the Cavo Redefossi in the vicinity of Porta Nuova, runs under the cerchia dei bastioni to Porta Romana, follows Corso Lodi and Via Emilia, finally ending up in the River Lambro.

The project and the start of construction

The history of the canal begins on June 3, 1443, date of a document by Filippo Maria Visconti

Filippo Maria Visconti

Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447.-Biography:Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor, by...

, Duke of Milan, approving an ambitious project put forward by a group of illustrious Milanese citizens led by Catellano Cotta, the duke's administrator for the salt monopoly. The project aims to deviate the River Adda

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...

 and thus build a canal for irrigation and to feed up to 16 mill wheels. The design included a water intake positioned just below the castle of Trezzo sull'Adda, where the natural course of the river narrows, therefore producing a current sufficient to guarantee a constant flow of water. The canal was to run alongside the river until Cassano d'Adda

Cassano d'Adda

Cassano d'Adda is a town and comune in the province of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the province of Milan and the province of Bergamo.-History:...

, where it would curve away in a south-westerly direction towards Milan, then hug the town walls of Inzago, turn towards Trecella and Melzo, and finally end up in the River Molgora.


Because of the political situation of the time, nothing happened until 1457, when Francesco Sforza's edict, underwritten by Cicco Simonetta

Cicco Simonetta

Francesco Simonetta was an Italian Renaissance statesman. He also is remembered for composing an early treatise on cryptography.- Biography :...

, marked the start of design work. The project was seen as being of great public benefit: since the war between Milan and Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, Sforza had realised the military and economic potential of a navigable canal in an area that, at the time, was considered to be of strategic importance to the dukedom. So he modified the original project, to put it into a wider context giving the city of Milan a water connection to the Rivers Adda and Ticino

Ticino

Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...

.

It was constructed by the engineer Bertola de Nova (1410-75) and inaugurated in 1465 by Bianca Maria Sforza

Bianca Maria Sforza

Bianca Maria Sforza was Holy Roman Empress as the second wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, by his second wife, Bona of Savoy....

.

Today it is a popular recreational area, known for its tranquil and traffic free cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

paths.