PAVIA CANAL

Almost five centuries to achieve a grandiose feat: a kind of highway over water that would directly connect Pavia to Milan, overcoming the obstacle of the 57-meter height difference between the Darsena and the Ticino.

It began with the Visconti, who, in 1359, designed a canal for the purpose, among other things very useful for irrigating the park of Pavia Castle where Gian Galeazzo loved to ride.

It was Napoleon who took on the challenge of building a real navigable canal more than 33 kilometers long, through the construction of 12 locks that would allow boats to overcome the drop, in both directions.

In 1812 Bonaparte started the work, which was completed in 1819 when the Austrians of the Lombardo-Veneto Kingdom were now ruling.