Last weekend I went to Milano for the first time in over twenty years to meet up with a group of long lost friends from my African childhood (thank you Facebook!).
My friends and I spent most of our time reminiscing over the past, and didn’t have much time for sight seeing. We did, however, manage to go and spend some time in one of the trendiest and most lively areas of Milano: i Navigli!
Il Naviglio Grande a Milano. Photo by Gabor Poros (a dear old friend from my days in Benghazi)
I navigli are a group of artificial canals built between the 12th and the 19th century which served both as waterways linking Milano to the main rivers of the region, and as irrigation canals. In fact, although it’s surrounded by lakes and important rivers, Milano did not have its own waterway. Hence the navigli allowed water transport northwards all the way to Switzerland, and southwards to the river Po, with eventual access to the Adriatic sea.
But with the advent of rail and road transport, the navigli became redundant. As Milano’s population expanded, in order to make the most of every available bit of space above ground her network of waterways was gradually covered over and built upon. However, beneath the surface there are still over 200 kilometres of canals and rivers.
Today, only two navigli survive: il Naviglio Grande and il Naviglio Pavese, both in the south of Milano near the Metro station of Porta Genova. After years of dereliction, these two canals have been cleaned up and restored, and they now host an array of art studios, restaurants, and bars forming the heart of Milano’s movida (fashionable lifestyle).
The flea market near the Navigli. Photo by Gabor Poros
My long lost friends and I went there for a late lunch (half past two in the afternoon), and found the Naviglio Grande lined with one restaurant after another, all crowded with customers enjoying lunch on a beautiful late September’s day. Being used to the limited menus of my small provincial Pontremoli, the list of dishes initially seemed various and appealing, but sadly there was very little choice for vegetarian me!
Later, it was fun wandering around the side streets between the Naviglio Grande and Porta Genova, which were filled with the stalls of a flea market, selling anything from antique furniture, to ethnic jewellery, modern artefacts and vintage clothings. As we passed through the market, my friend Marina, who has a very well trained eye for vintage designer fashion, managed to acquire a beautiful pair of leather shoes. “My birthday present” she justified, “I only paid 50 Euro for them”. She turned the shoes over and showed us the original price tag: 375 Euro! Lucky Marina!
Comments:
Muriel:
There is a third Naviglio called “della Martesana”min the North of the town which is not completely buried and visible
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@45.4983549,9.2124459,3a,75y,73.76h,72.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9yC8Z3zJlrxUTXvAOh45-A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Serena:
@Muriel Salve Muriel! Yes, there’s a third Naviglio (not complete), which I haven’t seen because in a different part of Milano. I recently read that there are plans to restore it like the other two.
Saluti da Serena
June Radicchi:
Interesting and informative but not one word of Italian.
Serena:
@June Radicchi Salve June!
No one word of Italian? What about ‘i navigli di Milano, Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese’? (7 Italian words) 😉
Don’t forget, this blog is not just about our language, but also our culture, history, art, geography and so on. And what’s more, our remit is to write mainly in English!
P.S. I forgot the word ‘movida’! (8 words)
Muriel:
@June Radicchi Se vuoi posso scrivere in Italiano ma visto che il post e’ in inglese ho commentato nella stessa lingua
Vichi:
Thank you for this, we are hoping to visit Milano next summer. I’ll try this in Italiano…
Grazie per questa, speriamo a visitare Milano prossimo anno. Se sbagliato, mi correga per favore! ☺
Serena:
@Vichi Salve Vichi, brava per aver provato a scrivere in Italiano!
Ecco le correzioni:
‘speriamo di visitare’ invece di ‘speriamo a visitare’
Auguri!
Serena
Kate:
I learned the following in Italian: I navigli, il Naviglio and movida. Grazie!
Serena:
@Kate Grazie Kate!
Roger howe:
What days are the markets on
Serena:
@Roger howe Sorry Roger, I don’t know. When I looked on the internet out of curiosity, various sites talked about a weekly market on Saturdays, but we went to the same area both Saturday and Sunday and the market was there only on Sunday.
Buona Fortuna!
Serena
Marilyn Francis:
Grazie mille Serena , non ho visitato Milano e non ho saputo che ci sono canale lì . Mi piace le tuoi articoli molto . Sono vegetariana anche, è difficile a volte . Mi dispiace, ma il mio italiano non molto bene .
Ciao
Serena:
@Marilyn Francis Brava Marilyn, l’importante è provare. Continua così!
Saluti da Serena
Rod Stephens:
Thank you for another interesting article, just a minor point if I may comment:-
my understanding is that “flea” market is the correct term because of the flea bites you might get while walking around the place!
I am happy to be corrected, but flee market has no direct correlation in my mind.
best wishes
Serena:
@Rod Stephens Salve Rod! No, you are right, it was our mistake. Also in Italian we say ‘il mercatino delle pulci’. Mea culpa!
Saluti da Serena