L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2021 L'Italo-Americano M e m o r i e s o f M i l a n b r i n g i m a g e s o f t h e D u o m o a n d V i a M o n t e - napoleone to mind, art and fashion remaining two of the reasons people like the city so much. But if you've visited, and especially if y o u ' v e l i v e d t h e r e a n d enjoyed your evenings and weekend the way locals do, then you must be fond of the navigli, Milan's own canals. W a t e r i s n ' t t h e f i r s t thing that springs to mind w h e n t h i n k i n g a b o u t Milan: contrarily to other major cities in Italy and the world, the Lombardia capi- tal wasn't built around a river. There is no Po nor Tiber, no Thames nor Seine here. As early as the 12 th century, in 1177, however, the Naviglio Grande, or Grand Canal, was inaugu- rated, making of it one of the oldest navigable canals i n t h e c o n t i n e n t : t h e Milanese understood how important waterways could b e f o r t h e i r w e l f a r e a n d their economy. Today, the N a v i g l i o G r a n d e i s t h e heart of Milan's "movida," the world of aperitivi and Dolce Vita alla Milanese, that so many missed dur- ing the pandemic, but its importance has been all economic and strategic for c e n t u r i e s : i t w a s a t t h e heart of a complex system of canals and waterways not much different from what we can still see today in Venice or Amsterdam. The aim was to increase the city's wealth and visi- bility and to make it better c o n n e c t e d . A n d s o , between the 12 th and the 17 th century, the navigli n e t w o r k w a s b o r n a n d developed, also with the considerable help of iconic Leonardo, who did come out with an idea or two on how to make the system more efficient. In the 15 th century, the navigli net- work connected the city to the Ticino River west and the Adda river east, while at its heart was the Cerchia Interna, or inner ring, a series of smaller navigli keeping together the whole system. Today, only a few v e s t i g e s o f t h i s g l o r i o u s water network are still visi- ble in the Navigli area, of course, and in the North of M i l a n , w i t h t h e Martesana canal: every- t h i n g e l s e f e l l v i c t i m t o t i m e a n d p r o g r e s s , w i t h most of the other canals being covered in concrete around the mid 20 th cen- tury. They are still there, r u n n i n g u n d e r n e a t h t h e surface of the city, but not many remember them any- more. In recent years, another famous area of the navigli system was rescued from oblivion, the Darsena, or " d o c k . " L o c a t e d a t t h e junction between Naviglio G r a n d e a n d N a v i g l i o Pavese, in the past it was, believe it or not, one of the busiest ports in the coun- try, used to transport goods o f a l l k i n d s t o I t a l y ' s wealthiest city. In fact, it was here at the Darsena that boats filled with mar- ble from the quarries of C a n d o g l i a w o u l d d o c k , their precious content to be used for the construction of Milan's most iconic land- m a r k , t h e D u o m o . T h i s went on up until the 1920s. The Darsena was even- tually decommissioned in t h e 1 9 6 0 s . Q u i c k l y , t h e area fell in disrepair and l a i d a b a n d o n e d f o r decades, until 2015, when it was renovated in occa- s i o n o f t h e M i l a n E x p o . T o d a y , t h e D a r s e n a i s a c t i v e p a r t o f t h e c i t y ' s navigli borough, and it's characterized by its many cafés, stores and restau- rants. After the requalifica- tion of the Darsena, boat services– a smaller version of Paris' famous bateaux mouches – has taken up, too: boats sail along the Naviglio Grande and dock at the Darsena, offering b o t h a n o c c a s i o n t o s e e Milan from a different per- spective and something to look at while sitting with y o u r N e g r o n i a l o n g t h e canal. The success of the "new" Darsena brought many to t h i n k i t m a y b e t i m e t o rediscover the navigli sys- tem in its entirety, by fully reopening Milan's Cerchia Interna, today mostly run- ning underground. A project was presented in 2019, with the aim of completing it by 2026, just i n t i m e f o r t h e W i n t e r Olympics Milan will co- h o s t w i t h C o r t i n a d'Ampezzo. The idea is to r e o p e n a b o u t 5 m i l e s o f c a n a l s , r u n n i n g f r o m Cassina di Pomm (north of the city) to the Darsena (in the south), following the path of Milan's medieval waterway system. The project is strong and has the support of the local community, as the pres- ence of organizations such as Riaprire i Navigli bears witness to. Indeed, recreat- ing the Inner Circle would also be a way to requalify large areas of the city and t o r e d u c e , a c c o r d i n g t o some, traffic and pollution. And while the project is undoubtedly ambitious, the example set by the Dutch city of Utrecht, whose cir- cular waterway – covered, just like the Inner Circle during the 20 th century – h a s b e e n r e c e n t l y reopened, strengthens the hopes of supporters. T h e n e x t b i g t h i n g i s finding sufficient funds to carry out the project: a sum of around 500 million euro ( o r 6 1 0 m i l l i o n U S D ) i s thought to be necessary, but the increased interest in the navigli could be a s t r o n g s e l l i n g p o i n t t o obtain relevant financing. Because the project could potentially bring together t h e c i t y ' s n e c e s s i t y f o r more green spaces, and a l s o o f f e r e m p l o y m e n t opportunities, a request to u s e s o m e o f t h e c o r o n - avirus recovery fund the EU will give Italy has been submitted, with specific plans currently being creat- ed by a Milanese engineer- ing firm. A view of Milan's Navigli today (Photo: Balazs Sebok/Dreamstime) GIULIA FRANCESCHINI Navigli, Milan's secret canals Swimming competition in the Navigli, in 1913 (Photo courtesy of Civico Archivio Fotografico, © Comune di Milano – All rights reserved) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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