Discovering the beautiful Ticino Park

The Ticino Park is a true oasis that stretches from Lake Maggiore to the Po, a vast area with around 800 kilometres of paths through the countryside, through 47 municipalities. Since 1974, the Park has been recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, confirming the great natural heritage it preserves.

The Le vie verdi (Green Routes) project was launched in 2003 with the aim of creating a Ticino Park trails map, given the vastness of the territory and its routes. The routes are mostly on dirt roads, which can be travelled both on foot and by bicycle. An interactive map of the routes was produced for orientation purposes, a map that can be viewed on the Ticino Park website.

The Ticino Park is open to everyone, but as it is a vast area, it can be very interesting to be guided by experts in order to better appreciate its natural and historical riches. To this end, the Park has set up a Register of Ticino Park Guides, expressly authorised to organise guided tours. For a nice excursion, simply contact one of the guides listed in the Register.

One of the most popular cycling routes in the Ticino Park is the cycle path from Abbiategrasso to Sesto Calende. Fifty kilometres of route along the Navigli and the famous Villoresi Canal, passing through historic villages and bridges. Always far from traffic and immersed in nature, against a backdrop of wonderful colours and views, the route is safe and well signposted so that losing your way is really difficult.

Crossing the Ticino Park also means encountering a number of historic villages worthy of a visit. The Ticino cycle path, which can also be travelled on foot, is for a stretch part of the famous European E1 trail, some 4,900 kilometres long, which runs from Cape North to Cape Passero in Sicily. A possible walk starts in Abbiategrasso, with its beautiful historic centre housing the Visconti Castle and the church of Santa Maria Nuova. In the next village of Morimondo to see is the Conca known as the Conca dell'Abbazia, a hydraulic system for connecting and navigating canals that is considered among the oldest in the world. After the centre of Besate you arrive at Motta Visconti, the birthplace of the famous poet Ada Negri. In all, about fifteen kilometres, for about three hours of walking.

For those who enjoy cycling on rough, unpaved paths, the advice is to retrace the Ipposidra path. The latter was an animal-drawn railway used in the mid-19th century to transport boats overland on the Navigli. Today, it is possible to retrace the road where the old ruins of the route can be found. It is an itinerary of about 22 kilometres, unpaved but not difficult. More challenging are the routes in the surrounding woods of Vizzola Ticino, Somma Lombardo and Golasecca.

The Villoresi Canal that one encounters on the cycle path originates from an engineering work that literally changed the economic and cultural scenario of the area. It is the Panperduto Dam, built in 1884 by Eugenio Villoresi himself, which gives the canal its name. Today it is also a tourist destination for those passing through the Ticino Park, but its activity of supplying water and energy to the surrounding area continues today as it did more than 130 years ago.

Still on the subject of water, the great protagonist of this Lombard Ticino park, and also close to the Panperduto Dam, is the Italo-Swiss Water Museum. The museum is a tribute to the very important hydraulic basin in the area, and was built in an old structure once used for plant maintenance. Nearby there is also an amusement park with water games, specially designed to attract children with playful attractions that can make them understand the importance of this element.