MILAN (Italy): Enchanting NAVIGLIO Grande Canal

Hello, dear friends!!
First of all I take this occasion to THANK YOU with all my heart for the closeness and friendship that you are showing me in this so difficult moments that my Country (and not only) are experiencing.
Your thoughts and demonstrations of friendship really warm my heart!!
Due to inhability to move and travel for the coronavirus, I show you one another characteristic place in Milan, my city, the Naviglio Grande Canal, the very centre of Milanese nightlife, a place that has an extraordinary centuries-old history.
Milan has three Canals and the first of which we know dates back to 1179, when the first navigable stretch of Naviglio Grande, the most important, was initially born with the purpose of irrigation and defence.
From 1272 it became navigable and in 1379 works began on the construction of the Naviglio Pavese Canal, which was used to connect Milan to the city of Pavia.
In 1457, Ludovico il Moro started the third Milanese Canal, La Martesana, or Small Canal, but it was the extraordinary genius of Leonardo Da Vinci who gave the fundamental impulse for the growth of these waterways, through a project of locks and hollows.
This incredibly modern project obviated the problem of difference in level of the lands and makes navigation easier.
The sketches and drawings made by the great Leonardo are still visible at the Navigli Museum in Milan.
From that moment and for a very long time, these Canals have been the most important transport system for goods, helping Milan and the entire Region to grow and develop economically more and more.
Starting from 1930, most of the circle of Canals which surrounded the center of the city was buried for health reasons and now only the three main Canals remain visible, two of which are connected by the dock.
Nowadays, the Canals, above all the Naviglio Grande, are full of Restaurants, pubs, street food corners, as well as vintage shops and contemporary art galleries and are always crowded with tourists and Milanese who love to meet and take an "aperitivo" in
these fascinating places.
In my video you can also see the famous "Alley of washerwomen", il Vicolo delle lavandaie, one of the most picturesque and photographed places in Milan.
So, hope you enjoy my work and a big embrace from me to all of you!!
Renata