the Navigli

A couple weeks ago, Mark and I met up with my summer intern and her boyfriend for dinner. Our stated purpose was to treat my intern as a 'thank-you' for all the wonderful work she did over the summer (she was great). Our secret hope was that she would suggest a restaurant that was delicious and cheap (I mean, I knew a lot of that when I was an un/underpaid kid in Paris) - something we could adopt as our own.


We ended up meeting them at a pizzaria in the Navigli district of Milan. The Navigli is pretty much on the opposite side of town from where we live, however, it's a direct tram ride over so it's still pretty convenient. Like Venice, Amsterdam, and Brugges, Milan is a city of canals and waterways. Built between 1100 and through the 16th century, these canals were intended to connect Milan - by water - to Ticino and Adda. In 1209, the canal construction that had begun outside the city finally reached Milan. Within a span of 35 years in the 1400s, 90 kilometres of canals were built within Milan's territory.


However, it was the innovations of Leonardo da Vinci that really saw the canal system at its highest level of utility. At the end of the 14th century, Da Vinci joined the project and ensured that marble brought from Ticino to Milan made it all the way down the canals to what is now the Piazza del Duomo. Why was this marble so important? Because it was being used for the construction of the Duomo itself!


Competition by trams and railways set the canals into a period of disuse. In the early twentieth century, the city of Milan actually undertook a project to cover canals the are in the city. However, the Navigli district remains a living reminder of the age and development of Milan. Now filled with trendy bars and restaurants, this area worked on by da Vinci is considered a "young" and "revitalized" part of the city.

Though we met my intern in August, the streets were still crowded with Italians enjoying apertivo or dinner. Our pizzas were delicious and, by Milan standards, not obscenely expensive. Now that the weather has turned (it's definitely fall in Milan) we'll be out there again for sure, sipping wine along the canals and bridges.