Le dighe del Panperduto tra storia, ingegno e…turismo
Ho ri-visitato Le Dighe del Panperduto, progettate dall’Ing. Villoresi, oasi tra tecnologia, storia, natura e cultura dove l’acqua la fa da padrona. Lo sapevate che grazie a questa/e opere di canalizzazione, la Lombardia è tra le prime regioni agricole d’Italia…Seguitemi…
My visit to Panperduto
Yesterday, Sunday 14 January, I visited the Panperduto dam(s) a stone's throw from home. In fact, in 30 minutes from Legnano, you arrive in this Oasis. Oasis of green and "blue" where water reigns supreme also for canalization-irrigation purposes. In fact, during Expo Milano 2015 I had the pleasure of bringing guests and authorities. Why? Because here there is the Italian-Swiss Water Museum (I remember that the dam comes from Ticino, Lake Maggiore, Swiss mountains), The Garden of Water Games( one of the first in Italy), history and then Sustainable-domestic tourism. In fact, this naturalistic oasis nestled between Lombardy and Piedmont, thanks to agreements with Navigli Lombardi, is also used for tourist navigation. I had the pleasure of accompanying my cultural tourism association with Turismo Sempione on the itineraries of the Ville delle Delizie (still active as of March 2024), I had the pleasure to take the tour of the dock up to San Cristoforo. This, in addition to the hydraulic aspect, could be the new challenge or "push" towards sustainable tourism that exploits the Milanese waterways, designed by Leonardo Da Vinci and that creates new opportunities and related activities. (yesterday I was sorry to see the Hostel closed Panperduto), but we veered towards ristorantecountry Rowers 6…)
L’acqua – Storia
Arriving in this place you will be enchanted: water is the absolute protagonist, you can perceive its majesty and power; the gaze is attracted by the complexity of the routes it takes between the river environment and the diversion and canalisation works. Here human ingenuity has managed to tame the water by building one of the most important hydraulic junctions in Lombardy, where part of the waters from the Ticino river are diverted to form two very important canals: the Villoresi, used for the irrigation and the Industrial canal, fundamental for energy production. The Panperduto dam on the Ticino and the works connected to it were inaugurated in1884 by Eugenio Villoresi's project,only after many years of studies and variations. The canal, which was born here and still bears the name of its illustrious designer, has completely transformed the territory and the activities connected to it, making less productive land fertile and becoming fundamental in the agricultural economy of the countryside north of Milan. A few years later, at the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the progress achieved in the production and distribution of electricity, the Industrial channel was also inaugurated; it is formed from the same hydraulic junction as the Villoresi Canal and is still used to power various hydroelectric power plants along its course. The Panperduto dam and the entire complex water system that develops here have remained almost unchanged since their birth and still continue to play a fundamental role in both the economy and culture of the territory in which they are located.
Museo e Giardino dei Giochi d’Acqua
The Panperduto is an open-air museum!
The Italian-Swiss Water Museum integrates perfectly with the surrounding environment and territory. When open, it will be possible to grasp the essentiality of water for human and natural life, recognizing the value of its multifunctionality as a primary element for agriculture, food, landscape and for the production of electricity. Located in the center of the island of Confurto, the ancient building, once used for maintenance equipment, has been renovated according to high standards of energy saving and environmental sustainability while maintaining the original typological and construction characteristics.
Next to the museum stands the "Water Games Garden", a play space to understand and experience the movement and power of water. An accumulation tank allows the functioning of the water games: installations of Archimedean screws, mills, channels, gates and pumps will allow children (but also adults) to learn the hydrodynamic and kinetic force of water.
For further information: www.panperduto.it
