The history of canals in Milan begins in the 12th century, when the Naviglio Grande was laid in the direction of Lake Maggiore. In the 14th century, the Naviglio Pavese, the “pavian canal,” appears, and at the very beginning of the 17th century, the artificial reservoir of Darsena.
In Milan, initially there were no rivers or other bodies of water that were so necessary for the city, therefore an extensive network of canals was created there, which served both as transport arteries and sources of water. Italian architectural historians note that Leonardo da Vinci even had a hand in this project.
The canal area was named Navigli and still exists today - in modern Milan. And, if in the XII century canals performed a purely utilitarian function (for example, marble was delivered through them for the construction of the Milan Duomo), then from the XIX century they began to play an "aesthetic" role. And all because it was at this time that they began to be filled up or taken into underground pipes, and the two channels that remained open - Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese - were kept just for beauty.
Navigli today is one of the most romantic districts of Milan, with a huge number of bars and restaurants by the water or on the water, the meeting place of Milan's bohemians. There are shops, headquarters and workshops of young designers, antiques markets, etc., and Navigli is easy to walk even from the very center of the city - from the Duomo. However, both the Milanese and the city authorities were tormented for a long time by the question of returning the canals "to work", and for this it was necessary to restore the completely neglected, drained Darsena.
In 2004, a competition was announced for the renovation project of the Darsena area, in which more than 50 architectural workshops took part. The jury selected 10 finalists from them: 5 Italian firms and 5 foreign ones. Won a project submitted by architects Sandro Rossi, Gaetano Viero, Edoardo Guazzoni, Andrea del Grosso, Paolo Rizzato and the French bureau
Bodin & Associés (its head, Jean-François Boden, created, in particular, the halls of the Center for Architecture and Heritage in the Palais de Chaillot in Paris and reconstructed the Picasso Museum - also in Paris).
Their proposal was to return the symbolic, historical significance to Darsene by improving her technical, functional and, of course, aesthetic condition. The renovated area was 100,000 m2.
In 2004, the project was expected to take a maximum of five years. When it became obvious that it would not be possible to complete it in such a timeframe, they set a new bar - to open Darsen, returning her the status of the "port of Milan", as well as the surrounding public spaces, including the Piazza 24 May (Piazza 24 Maggio) and the market, to Milan Expo 2015.
What did the new project promise? To make this zone as convenient as possible for pedestrians and cyclists, to reduce the flow of cars, to leave only 2 tram lines, to install benches and other outdoor furniture, to plant plane trees (for some reason they insisted on them in the project proposals), to build a new municipal market instead of the old one that separates Piazza 24 May from Darsena, create a new market square, adapting it for exhibitions, open-air musical performances, etc., replace the paving on Piazza di Porta Ticinese, build a new bridge equipped with an elevator for the sake of barrier-free environment and, of course, the most the main thing is to bring Darsena into working order, returning Milan to his past in an improved form.
As I have already mentioned, the project was expected to be implemented in five years. They promised that construction work would be carried out 20 hours a day, and they promised actively, advertising the project in all possible media. If it were not for such an extensive PR-activity, then the people would not have begun to enthusiastically follow the length of the builders' working day and maniacally count the hours they have worked. And according to these calculations, it was only six hours, with breaks for coffee, smoke breaks, lunch and so on. Of course, the media with excitement picked up the topic of non-fulfillment of promises. It became clear that it would not be possible to commission the object in five years, but they found an excuse for delay - Expo: it seemed like they combined two grandiose Milan events into one.
Despite the fact that the restoration of the historic Darsena is obviously good and necessary for the city, it sparked a wave of protests. The protracted construction particularly worried the residents of the surrounding area and the owners of local shops and cafes. And even the fact that the state allocated money to compensate for their financial losses did not soften the anger of entrepreneurs. By the way, the entire project cost 20 million euros.
However, the result exceeded all expectations. Probably, for the sake of this, it was worth enduring all the inconveniences: Darsen did not know, she began to live a new life. And although many people complain about the insufficient purity of the water in the canals, the whole area looks impressive and, I think, thanks to the huge number of new events, the reconstruction will definitely pay off. By the way, water is the only "minus" of the new Darsena. It is, unfortunately, dirty: probably because of the incomplete filtration system. This gives rise to another nuisance - mosquitoes, which - just like the Milanese - enjoy spending the evening hours around Darsena.
Otherwise, this is the case when everything promised in the project was implemented in accordance with the plan. The new market building is very simple, with a light frame (the architects cite the fact that they were inspired by the romantic open pavilions typical of France). It is full of people who not only shop but also enjoy eating outdoors.
The paving of the squares was replaced, as promised: everywhere there are comfortable benches and other outdoor furniture, so that it would be more comfortable to relax in the shade of trees or look at the water. By the way, we made very comfortable descents to the water, and now you can walk or ride a bike almost flush with its surface. Within the framework of the project, not only the promised "barrier-free" bridge was made, but also the old one was restored. And Darsena herself started working again, reminding Milan of his glorious past. It is worth mentioning that during the renovation, parts of the original wooden structures and historic walls were discovered: all of this was also restored.
Now that Expo 2015 is in full swing in Milan, Darsena is one of the most visited places in the city. Many events have been organized here, interesting sculptures and installations have been staged. Restaurants, bars, cafes - everything works again. Moreover, thanks to the excellent state of the district, new entrepreneurs have come here and another restaurant has already opened.
At first glance, Darsena's renovation project is very simple, and to a person accustomed to architectural special effects, it may even seem primitive. But it seems to me that everything is correct: after all, the task was to restore the view of the Milanese past, and this was quite successful.
