Just as the Venetian patricians holidayed in the Brenta area, so did the noble Milanese families spend their summers along the Naviglio.

They spent their time in the eighteenth-century villas that make up the great heritage of Cassinetta di Lugagnano (MI).

Actually, Cassinetta and Lugagnano were two distinct urban centres, located on the opposite banks of the Naviglio Grande and connected by a humpbacked bridge next to which stands the statue of San Carlo Borromeo who passed here in 1584.

In the village is the boat mooring that takes tourists along the Naviglio Grande, along a romantic stretch that is rich in fauna and natural scenery.

In the Parco del Ticino, a green belt around Milan, agriculture and water are protected by Italy’s first zero-growth regulatory plan which forbids urban settlements while keeping agricultural land as intact as possible.

An end to cement and new buildings: now you can only restore the patrician villas and old farmhouses and cycle through the Parco dei Navigli, a 200km loop along which you discover the naturalistic and artistic beauty of the area. These include villas that belonged to the most important Milanese families - Trivulzio, Visconti, Mantegazza, Castiglioni, Parravicini – known as "villas of delight" these noble houses were used to carry out periodic checks on the management of land by the tenants and as summer holiday homes.

Surrounded by marvellous gardens and ancient trees, the most important are Villa Negri, the sixteenth-century villa Birago Clari Monzini and the neoclassical villa Visconti Castiglione Maineri which is reflected in the canal.

BORGHI PIÙ BELLI D’ITALIA #INLOMBARDIA