Canale Villoresi

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The Pista Ciclabile Villoresi Canale (Villoresi Canal Bike Path) roughly follows the route of the historical Villoresi Canal across the northern suburbs of Milano.

The trail begins at the Fiume Adda which flows from Lago di Como (lake). After 75 km., the trail takes an abrupt turn to the north along the canal which now follows the Ticino River. The canal and the Pista Ciclabile end at the Diga Panperduto (Dam). Another approximately 10 km (6.2 mi.) mostly along via Alzaia (Towpath Road) takes you to Sesto Calende at the mouth of Lago Maggiore (lake).

Because it follows an old canal, it is extremely flat. Most of the trail is a crushed limestone surface, but where it is used heavily in the northern suburbs it is paved (and also broken up by a lot of cross roads). The further west and north you get (away from the city) the more beautiful the surroundings get.

There are several large and important villas along or nearby the route. The Villa Reale in Monza (about 1 km off the route) is the most famous and has a very large accompanying park with its own network of trails (unfortunately not singletracks).

Villa Aconati in Bollate (also about 1 km off the route) sits in the large Parco delle Groane (park), also with its own network of trails (unfortunately not singletracks).

Villa Litta in Lainate is right off the trail. It has a number of Giochi d'Acqua (literally "water games"). The crazy Viscount who lived there would activate the water jets that shot onto unsuspecting guests from different features in the architecture.