mastro Orso

The Muzza canal was formerly
a dead branch of the Adda
River, which ended near Paullo.
In the thirteenth century the people
of Lodi built the canal that
from Paullo parallels the Adda
River up to Castiglione. These
two courses are the cornerstone
of a cycle system, which is based
on easy practicability, beautiful
environment and history.
The Muzza canal
between Cassano and Lodi
Our starting point is the train
station of Cassano. You can arrive
there by train, loading your
bicycle. From here, the Muzza
canal deviates gradually from the
course of the Adda River even if
continuing to parallel it along a
fascinating stretch of plain which
is not so urbanized. You will pass
by several villages: Corneliano
Bertario, built around Castello
Borromeo, is worth a detour.
The dirt cycle track will lead
you, then, to Paullo, where the
artificial stretch of the canal begins.
The route continues coasting
the canal without being annoyed
by the traffic: just pay attention
when you cross the historic
Via Pandina, built to link
the Visconti family’s fortresses
of Melegnano and Pandino. In
Montanaso Lombardo you will
leave the canal behind to go
northward towards Lodi along
some pleasant and safe cycle
tracks. The city, which was built
by Frederick Barbarossa, greets
the visitors with striking sights:
the Romanesque Dome, the
Broletto and, most of all, the
Tempio dell’Incoronata, a Lombard
art masterpiece.
110 Feeling the plain on your bicycle • Muzza Canal and Adda River
The Muzza canal between
Lodi and the Adda River
Let’s go back to Montanaso
Lombardo to return to the
Muzza’s towpath. From there
you will go southward. The cycle
track, which is mainly dirt,
runs few kilometres east from
Lodi Vecchio, whose ancient
Basilica di S. Bassiano is worth
a visit. You will cross some delightful
rural landscapes avoiding
the traffic of both the motorway
and the Via Emilia, remaining
between the two. At Muzza Piacentina,
you must be careful
when crossing the national road,
then you continue to ride closer
to the Adda River, to whom the
canal give its water in Castiglione.
From there it turns immediately
eastward. Continue
along a pleasant paved cycle
track, which, after few kilometres,
arrives in the village of Cavacurta.
From here to Pizzighettone
you will ride along one
country road after the other and,
zigzagging, you will arrive in one
of the most well preserved walled
villages of Lombardy: don’t miss
the tour on the walls (it can be
done also in the summer evenings)
immerging yourself in the
past, an astonishing experience
both for adults and children.
Between the Adda
and Po rivers
This is a route that links Pizzi
ghettone to Maccastorna, so that
also the two cycle-tourist routes
are linked, i.e. the Muzza canal
and the Po River ones. It is not
simply a connection route but a
stretch that shows you the environment
that coasts the Adda
River, which was only skimmed
by the two previous routes. It is
hosted entirely in Parco Adda
Sud, which, since 1983, has been
protecting the natural areas
that surround the River, in particular
the damp zones and the
routes for studying. Maccastorna,
a typicl village of the plain,
which is the least inhabited in
Italy, will mesmerize you with
its imposing quadrangular shaped
castle of the Visconti family,
the last landmark in this
stretch of countryside between
the Adda and the Po rivers.
• Sotto:
il rigore goticolombardo
di San Bassano
a Lodi Vecchio
• Below:
Lombard gothic
features
in the Basilica
di San Bassiano
in Lodi Vecchio
111