Cassinetta di Lugagnano

As the majority of ancient settlements along the Naviglio Grande, Cassinetta di Lugagnano as well bends its history and its destiny to the presence of the canal that represented an important route of communication and transport to Milan for centuries. Basically, this village is the result of two parallel stories, one is quiet and the other rich of misfortunes. What unites them is a granite bridge, built in the XVII century, which connected the two opposite banks of the Naviglio Grande. The most ancient part of the village is Lugagnano, on the right bank of the Naviglio Grande, whose first settlements date back to the Roman era. It was extended up to Abbiategrasso and it became an important Medieval feud (together with the nearby Robecco sul Naviglio) whose dominion passed from one lord to another. Various documents attest that the country was perched around a castle with a moat. However, to this day only a few things of that era still exist.

A different story is the one that affected the core of the village located on the other side of the Naviglio: Cassinetta. The term would come from Cassina Biraga, with reference to the founder of this suburb, Maffiolo Birago, noble of the Duchy of Milan, that here in 1435 ordered the creation of the most ancient church of the place dedicated to Beata Vergine and Sant’Antonio Abate. A few years before he also dig an artificial canal (called Roggia Biraga), which derived from the Naviglio Grande, that would start the blades of a mill (Mulino della Pazza Biraga) that is still working today.

The importance and the functionality of the Naviglio in those centuries enabled the creation of the fortunes that the place benefits. In addition to the commercial transportation of goods, the Naviglio also allowed, with a certain comfort for that age, to go out of the city and reach holiday and hunting resorts. This is how increasingly wealthy families discovered the calm and the fresh and healthy air of these rural areas, and owning a property along the watercourses that surrounded Milan became the trend of the moment. Therefore the Villa di Delizia (House of delight) was created: noble homes, surrounded by parks and gardens. Some of these deserve to be visited and admired for their grace and elegance, surrounded by the green and the slow flowing of the Naviglio Grande waters.