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| MILAN HOMEPAGE » NAVIGLI AREA » WHAT TO SEE |
Vicolo dei Lavandai |
The “Navigli” formed until the 19th
century the city’s port district. Work on the Naviglio Grande
started in 1177. A sequence of locks allowed boats to travel along
the canals on different levels. Lodovico il Moro with Leonardo da
Vinci improved this network in the 15th century. Thanks to the Navigli
canals, in 1953 landlocked Milan was ranked the 13th port in Italy.
Today, the area around the Navigli, is one of liveliest of Milan:
here you’ll find many interesting shops, restaurants and markets.
During the day the area around the Navigli is peaceful, with a village
atmosphere. Walking back towards the dockyard (the Darsena) there
is a good
Porta Ticinese painting |
view of the pretty Vicolo dei Lavandai (Washers’ Alley) from
the opposite side of the canal. In the past women would wash their
clothes in the pool fed by the Naviglio Grande. The Gate at the
beginnig of this area is called “Porta Ticinese”.
This gate once was located on the roman road that led to Pavia from
Milan. Only a part of the neo-classical plan by Luigi Cagnola is
visible today. His ideas included bastions - since demolished -
and the square in the direction of the village of San Gottardo between
vast buildings that were to house t
Naviglio Grande |
he local market and receiving office. These buildings were to lie
on either side of the gateway and symmetrical to the road, thereby
redefining the entire area. The project was begun in 1801 to celebrate
the victory of Napoleon at the battle of Marengo in 1800 and the
arrival of the French troops from that direction, but construction
was halted in 1814 after only the gate and the two toll-gates at
the sides had been finished. |
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