The best traffic-free bike rides around Milano

View of the Muzza, very beautiful.

Trails and single tracks on the way there, immersed in nature.

The Parco delle Groane e della Brughiera Briantea is an immense protected natural area in Lombardy that extends for about 8,249 hectares in the upper Lombardy plain, touching 28 or 29 municipalities distributed among the provinces of Milan, Como, and Monza and Brianza. [1, 2, 3, 4] Originally established in 1976, the park has doubled its surface area in recent years thanks to the incorporation of the PLIS della Brughiera Briantea and the Fontana del Guercio Nature Reserve. The term "groane" derives from the local historical name for heathlands, which here represent one of the southernmost heathlands in Europe.

The Cathedral with the Clock Tower occupies the east side of Piazza della Vittoria, and the facades of houses and palaces frame its facade. The square, as a civic and religious center, as we see it today, was formed in different periods. The construction site of the Duomo was organized according to the methods of the time, i.e. by tracing the perimeter directly on the ground and then starting with the construction of the apse area. The so-called "stepped" facade suggests the division of the internal space, in which the central nave is higher and wider than the two side aisles. In the center of the facade, in the upper part, is the aedicule containing a bronze copy of the statue of San Bassiano, the original in copper and gold patina is kept inside the main nave of the cathedral. The central part of the facade is occupied by the rose window which, besides being a typically decorative element, allows for good internal lighting.

The sanctuary stands on an ancient spring believed to be miraculous. In 1506, Charles II d’Amboise, governor of Milan under French rule, ordered the construction of the sanctuary after receiving a prodigious healing: the building became one of the most important health structures in the city, along with the Lazzaretto and Ca’ Granda, whose floor plan it adopted. The architecture, with its classical and Renaissance influences, was long attributed even to the hand of Leonardo and then Bramante; today it is believed to be the work of Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, an architect highly regarded at the time and also active in the Milan Cathedral, Santa Maria delle Grazie, and the Certosa di Pavia. Characterized by a sober yet elegant architecture, a reflection of the highest Lombard solutions of Renaissance harmony and grace, the complex preserves precious 16th and 17th-century frescoes in its arcaded courtyards.

Around the rose window and the slopes of the roof, the decoration with interwoven arches and polychrome majolica cups of Byzantine derivation is to be observed. Below the rose window, two Renaissance stone windows have been created. The "candelabra" columns and the side coats of arms refer to the motifs of humanistic culture. The most characteristic element of this facade is the protiron. In the lunette above the portal are depicted the Redeemer, the crowned Madonna, and Saint Bassiano imploring. On the pilasters of the horizontal architrave are depicted Adam and Eve and, below, two other figures that recall the vices of man. The portal is framed by spiral columns, and the decorations surrounding the portal arch consist of naturalistic decorative motifs derived from the Lombard school, with shoots, spirals, and aquatic plant leaves. Finally, the small roof that frames and shelters the portal is supported by stylophoric lions.

The Muzza Canal, also known as Canale della Muzza, originates near the Castello di Cassano d’Adda, where it draws water from the Adda river. After a course of about 39 km, it flows back into the Adda near Castiglione. Considered an important hydraulic engineering work at a European level, the Muzza Canal is among the oldest in Europe, with about 800 years of history, and is the largest in Northern Italy. Crossing the landscapes of the Po Valley, the canal contributes to the irrigation of the surrounding lands of the Lodi area and preserves precious patches of woodland vegetation, which characterize the Lombard territory. An ideal place to explore the beauty of nature and discover the agricultural history of the region!

The bridge over the Muzza Canal, located in Lavagna (a hamlet of the municipality of Comazzo in the province of Lodi), is a historical landmark for crossing this ancient artificial waterway. The Muzza is a branch of the Adda river, known for being one of the oldest canals in Europe. Lavagna Lodigiana is a small rural village immersed in the countryside that develops right next to the canal. The bridge area is frequented by cyclists and hikers who travel along the Muzza cycle path or the Muzza-Ponte di Lavagna route, enjoying the river landscape.