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THE LOCKS OF THE MARTESANA CANAL IN MILAN. FROM LEONARDO’S STUDIES TO THE CULTURAL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT ENTITLED “SLIDING DOORS”

C. Cali

Abstract

This paper presents an example of historical research for investigating a couple of old locks used for raising and lowering watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on one of the waterways of Milan (Italy), better known as “Navigli”. The “Navigli” canals wooden locks, which nowadays are preserved in the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” of Milan (MUST), are considered an excellence of 15th century Lombard cultural heritage. A current historical analysis was mandatory given to the cultural value of the artefact. The research was carried out in close collaboration with the Department of Leonardo Arte and Science of MUST. The research’s objectives were the reconstruction of the chronological stages and the site identification of the locks. The lock device was the hydraulic tool that allowed a continuous navigation across the Milanese Navigli network and a consequent trading enhancement. In his first Milanese stay from 1482 to 1499, Leonardo da Vinci studied the Navigli hydraulic engineering and he provided technical improvements for the waterways. The most important studies on this subject are kept in the sheets of the Codex Atlanticus preserved in the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana of Milan.

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