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Naviglio di Bereguardo

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Naviglio di Bereguardo
Part of the canal
Specifications
Length19 km (12 mi)
Locks18
Maximum height above sea level24 m (79 ft)
History
Principal engineerBertola da Novate
Geography
Start pointNaviglio Grande at Abbiategrasso
End pointBereguardo

The Bereguardo Canal (Italian: Naviglio di Bereguardo) was a navigable canal, part of the Navigli system in Lombardy, Italy.[1] A secondary branch of the Naviglio Grande, it diverges at Abbiategrasso, heading south to Bereguardo (a distance of about 18 kilometres or 11 miles).[2] The Naviglio di Bereguardo, along with the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio di Pavia, connect Milan to the Ticino, which then connects to the Po and eventually to the sea. The canals, called naviglio because they were navigable by boats, were an integral part of Milan's dominance over northern Italy, both as a means of transportation as well as agricultural irrigation and, eventually, hydraulic energy for manufacturing.[3]

Construction on the canal began in 1420 and was completed in 1470.[4] The principal engineer was Bertola da Novate (1410-1475), sponsored by Francesco Sforza, who constructed the 18 pound locks.[5] The mitre gate, designed by da Novate, was a major improvement to the design of locks. Although da Novate was the first to introduce the concept in 1458, earlier drawings of the same design were done by Leonardo da Vinci.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Bereguardo Canal | canal, Italy | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  2. ^ Suzette., Harris, Dianne (1996). Lombardia illuminata : the formation of an enlightenment landscape in 18th-century Lombardy. OCLC 1277163231.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Steiner, Frederick (2016), "The Ecological Region", Human Ecology, Washington, DC: Island Press/Center for Resource Economics, pp. 95–123, doi:10.5822/978-1-61091-778-0_6, ISBN 978-1-61091-555-7, retrieved 2022-03-14
  4. ^ "Pista Ciclabile del Naviglio di Bereguardo". www.saltainsella.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  5. ^ Feng, Xiangqian (2018-07-10). The time threshold: Integration design of architecture and hydraulic infrastructure. OCLC 1043946844.
  6. ^ Clarke, Mike (February 2014). "The history and replacement of lock gates". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering History and Heritage. 167 (1): 10–21. doi:10.1680/ehah.13.00012. ISSN 1757-9430.