The best MTB trails around Melzo

The Muzza Canal is the oldest in Europe and just 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 within their territory. The current route, about 60 km long, receives the waters of the Adda River at Cassano d’Adda, at an altitude of 120 m above sea level, crosses the Lodi territory for about 40 km until near Castiglione d’Adda, at an altitude of 45 m above sea level, and here it releases them back into the Adda River. It has a regulated water regime, with a flow rate, depending on the season, of about 200 thousand 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.

Naviglio della Martesana is perhaps the least known of the ancient artificial canals connecting Milan to the great Lombard rivers. It originates from the Adda in Concesa, a hamlet of Trezzo d’Adda, crosses the Martesana sub-region, northeast of the provincial capital, and once in the city, it plunges underground beneath Via Melchiorre Gioia, at the height of Cassina de’ Pomm. It measures approximately 38 km in length, with a width varying from 9 to 18 meters. However, once upon a time, the Naviglio della Martesana continued in the open air all the way to the center, where a lock system centered on the Conca dell’Incoronata connected it to the short Naviglio di S. Marco and the urban network of the Navigli. The lock was inaugurated in 1496, utilizing lock gates designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The canal had been opened in 1471, under Francesco Sforza. By connecting it to the other Navigli, Leonardo laid the foundations for realizing a dream of the Sforzas: to travel by water from the Ticino, and therefore from Lake Maggiore, all the way to the Adda.

The Naviglio della Martesana, initially known as Naviglio Piccolo, is one of the Milanese canals that connects Milan with the course of the Adda river through the municipalities of Martesana. Commissioned in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, it was used for irrigating the countryside but also represented the ambitious project of connecting Milan with Lake Como and thus with the Alps and Ticino. The Naviglio della Martesana is a place rich in history and beauty, a heritage for everyone that, however, today is still little known and protected. Along the Naviglio runs a rather busy cycle path, which allows you to admire the landscape and cultural beauties, such as the rich flora, fauna, or the numerous historic villas, including the Renaissance Villa Melzi d’Eril in Vaprio d’Adda.

The banks of the Adda River from Rivolta to Spino d'Adda are a charming place.

suggestive and well preserved

the center

Don't miss it if you're in the Crespi area, just a stone's throw from Trezzo sull'Adda. It was once a textile factory, built with an innovative entrepreneurial concept. The workers' homes have now been privatized and inhabited. The internal alleys are open to the public. The factory itself can be visited with guides.

Be careful of puddles if it has just rained