{"id":12644,"date":"2016-10-06T12:44:04","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T10:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=12644"},"modified":"2016-10-07T20:36:37","modified_gmt":"2016-10-07T18:36:37","slug":"i-navigli-di-milano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/i-navigli-di-milano\/","title":{"rendered":"I Navigli Di Milano"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend I went to Milano\u00a0for the first time in over twenty years to meet up with a group of long lost friends from my African childhood (thank you Facebook!). <\/span><\/p>\n

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!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"naviglio-grande\"

Il Naviglio Grande a Milano. Photo by Gabor Poros (a dear old friend from my days in Benghazi)
<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

I<\/span><\/strong> navigli<\/strong> are a group of artificial canals built between the 12th and the 19th century which <\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with the advent of rail and road transport, the navigli became redundant. As Milano’s population expanded, i<\/span>n order to make the most of every available bit of space above ground her <\/span>network of waterways was gradually covered over and built upon. <\/span>However,<\/span> beneath the surface<\/span> there are still<\/span> over 200 kilometres of canals and rivers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, only two navigli survive: il Naviglio Grande<\/strong> and il Naviglio Pavese<\/strong>, both in the south of Milano near the Metro station of Porta Genova<\/strong>. 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<\/strong> (fashionable lifestyle).<\/p>\n

\"mercato-navigli\"

The flea market near the Navigli. Photo by Gabor Poros<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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!<\/p>\n

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\u00a0designer 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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Last weekend I went to Milano\u00a0for 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…<\/p>\n

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