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Navigli
Navigli is situated south
of the city center of Milan, around
the canals that were used to transport marble from Lake Maggiore to Milan
for the building of the Duomo. Together with Brera it’s Milan's most popular neighborhood among expats.
When you go from the
city center to Navigli, you almost have the feeling that you are leaving the chaotic
city behind to enter into a quite, romantic village made of yellow
houses, small shops and canals.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Navigli is one of the
oldest parts of Milan. The area developed around the canals that were
constructed
in the twelfth century.
They connected Milan with the countryside. The sluices (still
visible) are the work of Leonardo Da Vinci.
Traffic
Until the nineteenth
century there was heavy traffic on the canals. Boats transported
passengers and food products and construction materials coming from the country side like corn, fruit
and vegetables,
wood, sand and stone.
Case a
ringhiera
Navigli was originally a
working-class quarter with markets and workshops. People lived in small
apartments in the typical Milanese case a ringhiera, apartment buildings
around small courtyards.
Apartments
Over the last years
Navigli has become a popular neighborhood among designers,
artists, expats, young urban people and well-off students. The
working-class houses became fashionable apartments, often not bigger than 30-50
square meters, for which you pay 1000-1500 euro per month.
Unique
atmosphere
But nonetheless Navigli kept its
unique atmosphere and it's probably for this reason, that the area is highly
desired. In between the many fashionable shops and cafe's you can still
find workshops of craftsmen.
Night life
Except for living, Navigli
is popular for its night life. In the evening when it gets dark Milan life
seems to move towards the trendy cafe's, typical restaurants, wine bars,
birrerie and night clubs along the canals.
 Street
markets
Every last Sunday of the
month, Navigli is scenery for a famous antique market. Here you
can find fine Italian furniture and other objects of far-off times. For fresh fruit and
vegetables, there's a daily mercato comunale. In spring the
yearly flower market takes place here.
Reopening
In 1929-1930 the canal
that lead into the city center was closed. Cars, busses and trucks had
taken over transport of passengers and materials. Lately discussions are going
on about urban projects for reopening the canal.
Also read
Fashionable Brera
Finding a home in Milan |
