Italy to open up Renaissance canals
Italy to open up Renaissance canals
Renaissance canals are to be reopened in Italy. This will allow visitors to travel by boat from Lake Maggiore to Venice via Milan, a distance of over 500km (300 miles). There are also plans to link the canal system to Switzerland.
Engineers will start to undertake the project this summer, reports The Times. They will begin by clearing eight kilometres of canals from the southern end of
Lake Maggiore, from Sesto Calende to Somma Lombardo.
According to Alessandro Meinardi of Navigli Lombardi, the company overseeing the project, one aim is to make all of the 14th century 140km stretch of waterways from Locarno in
Switzerland to
Milan navigable.
This restored canal system would link up with the river Po, ending up in
Venice. The whole project is expected to cost €1bn (£886m) and would enable tourists to take a
boating holiday to Venice through the Italian Renaissance landscape.
The canals started to fall into disuse in the 1930s when goods began to be transported by road and rail, rather than water, Meinardi explained. They were rendered unnavigable through neglect and the construction of dams for irrigation. The new system will use electronically controlled locks.
Visitors to Milan can already enjoy boat trips along canals that have been restored, such as the Naviglio Grande. Properties along navigable waterways are reported to have risen in value, particularly in Britain.
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