The best traffic-free bike rides around Vimodrone

The bridge over the Muzza Canal, located in Lavagna (a hamlet of the municipality of Comazzo in the province of Lodi), is a historical landmark for crossing this ancient artificial waterway. The Muzza is a branch of the Adda river, known for being one of the oldest canals in Europe. Lavagna Lodigiana is a small rural village immersed in the countryside that develops right next to the canal. The bridge area is frequented by cyclists and hikers who travel along the Muzza cycle path or the Muzza-Ponte di Lavagna route, enjoying the river landscape.

The Muzza Canal is one of the most important and oldest hydraulic engineering works in Europe. It is a large artificial branch of the Adda river that crosses the Lombard plain. For centuries, it has represented the main resource for irrigating the lands of the province of Lodi and southern Milan. It originates in Cassano d'Adda (Milan), drawing water directly from the Adda near the Visconti castle. It ends its course after about 39-40 kilometers (over 60 km considering the entire main network), rejoining the Adda at Castiglione d'Adda (Lodi).

The Locks of Bellinzago Lombardo are an important historical hydraulic engineering work located along the course of the Naviglio della Martesana. They represent one of the best-known stopping and points of interest for cyclists and hikers who frequent the canal bank. These historical hydraulic systems (locks or sluices) originally served to regulate the flow of water and allow commercial navigation between the Adda and Milan.

The Naviglio Martesana cycle path (also called Naviglio Piccolo) is a cycle-pedestrian route of about 36 kilometers that connects the center of Milan with the Adda river, reaching up to Trezzo sull'Adda or Cassano d'Adda. Completely flat and asphalted, it is an ideal itinerary for families, urban cyclists, and cycle tourists of all levels.

The Martesana cycle path starts from Cassina de' Pomm at the corner of via Melchiorre Gioia and extends for 30 km passing through the municipalities of Cologno Monzese, Vimodrone, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Cassina dei Pecchi, Bussero, Gorgonzola, Gessate, Inzago and Cassano d'Adda

Il Giardino Cassina de' Pomm is an urban park in Milan located in the Greco district (Municipality 2), situated on the left bank of the Naviglio della Martesana, precisely at the point where the canal goes underground beneath Via Melchiorre Gioia. Inaugurated in 2002 on an area of approximately 10,600 sq m, it occupies the space previously occupied by the disused industrial plant of the Bonomi candle factory. The park owes its name to the historic Cassina de' Pomm, a 15th-century farmhouse located on the opposite bank that in the past served as an inn and a horse posting station.

The Cascata della Vallategna is a spectacular waterfall of about 30 meters located on the geographical border between the municipalities of Asso and Canzo, in the province of Como. This natural attraction represents a famous symbolic border, as it separates the end of the hilly Brianza from the beginning of the mountainous area of Vallassina.

The Muzza Canal is the oldest in Europe and this year, its 800th anniversary was celebrated by the Municipality of Paullo in collaboration with the Pro Loco and other Municipalities. Its origin dates back to the year 1220, when Frederick II of Swabia, crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, issued an imperial edict that granted the people of Lodi the right to use the waters flowing through their territory. The current route, about 60 km long, receives the waters of the Adda at Cassano d’Adda, at an altitude of 120 m above sea level, crosses the Lodi territory for about 40 km up to near Castiglione d’Adda, at an altitude of 45 m above sea level, and here it releases them back into the Adda. It has a regulated water regime, with a flow rate, depending on the seasons, of about 200,000 liters of water per second; an initial width of 50 meters which reduces to a few meters at the end of its course and an average depth of 2 meters.