To Cassinetta for an emotional walk

My heart beats... and often stops where you expect it less. It stops, for example, along the stone bridge that separates a lively and harmonious village from a mute and silent countryside. It stops beating watching the water of the Naviglio that flows slowly and brings with it memories of a noble past, whose memories are tangible signs recently plastered. And my feet were not slow to follow. They stop for a moment, just to admire the grace of the landscape that tickles the heart. Then they move again along what is the ideal way for exciting walks. Of course, because by observing the grace and the amount of the architectural heritage that follows the towing-path of the Naviglio and that becomes a part of the village of Cassinetta di Lugagnano in these small spaces, one is genuinely fascinated . 

There is, for example, Birago-Clari-Monzin Villa, on the right side of the Naviglio, recently restored, which preserves the features of an ancient and stately home. There are Trivulzio Villa and Mantegazza-Macinaghi Palace that are worth the visit. And then they, the wonderful villas that line the Naviglio between Robecco and its restaurants and Cassinetta, a trace of great interest to come back memory to the glories of a forgotten past.

Visconti Villa is no doubt the best example of the past age. Occupying the eastern side of the channel, it appears to you in all its splendor just passed the stone bridge. A majestic shade of yellow, a color very dear to the eighteenth century and neoclassical Milan, which took his representatives on holiday on the Naviglio banks. In fact, it is a city building whose interior is hidden to the eyes by the imposing walls. On entering, however, as in an unreal dimension, an unexpected world lives again, opening your eyes and your mind. There is in fact trace of the chapel, which is divided into two rooms, the public one opens onto the road and the interior one with the presence of the altar and the sacristy. And the garden, on two different floors, is divided into many different styles: the first Italian and the second English. The rooms, the decorations, the frescoes, then, make unique the sight to those who are lucky and manage to get into one of the FAI days. (the building is a private property) . 

The best season for a trip to Cassinetta is surely late spring, at the end of May, when the flowers of the locust color the landscape of white. It was known even by nobles, who at this time and in summer chose this village and the Naviglio stretch between Cassinetta and Robecco to spend moments of recreation in their beautiful homes . What reason for? Maybe because here the canal course is deep and ideal for those arriving by boat. Or maybe because in these few miles the canal is like a mountain stream with waves that run after each other, in every bottleneck. Or, simply, because only three centuries before the Naviglio held, for the young lord and his retinue, the same recall that the Liguria of Rapallo and Santa Margherita had on the 80s yuppie from Milan. In fact Cassinetta di Lugagnano still keeps the features of a resort area: easy to reach from Milan, the presence of pedestrian and cycle paths ideal for walking , mild climate and refreshed really by the presence of woods and the channel. The peace and tranquility you'll find here, however, are difficult to find in  Liguria today.

But Cassinetta di Lugagnano is not only historical villas - really many - and the Naviglio. The village is in fact known for proposing a zero growth town-plan, just to emphasize the two peculiarities of the village. A municipality that believes in the harmonious development of the territory and which wants to be part of a prestigious club, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. An area that lives and thrives along the Naviglio banks, crossed by the homonymous Cycling Park which sees really the village among the major attractions of the park itself.