Darsena, Milan

Darsena is an artificial water basin beside Porta Ticinese, shaped by Milan’s former waterways and once devoted to boats. The basin stretches about 750 metres in length and 25 metres across, with a surface of 17,500 square metres and a depth of about one and a half metres. Its water arrives through the Naviglio Grande, leaves through the Naviglio Pavese, and can be diverted by the Cavo Ticinello.

Follow the long, curved edge of the water: that unusual outline reflects the route of the Spanish walls that once enclosed this part of Milan. In 1603, Pedro Enríquez de Acevedo, Count of Fuentes and Spanish governor, turned the earlier Sant’Eustorgio lake into a proper port. Darsena then handled loading, unloading, mooring, and storage for vessels using the Navigli, becoming the key junction for Milan’s commercial river traffic.

Its working life ended when the final cargo barge entered on the thirtieth of March 1979. What you see now is therefore a former freight harbour that has become a destination for visitors, while its water still preserves the meeting point of Milan’s canal system.