Isola to the Martesana canal: Sacro Volto to Gorla: a walk in Milan

From the Isola parish church of the 'Righteous' priest don Eugenio Bussa, north-east to the 15th-century Cassina de' Pomm, where the Naviglio della Martesana comes out into the open, then along the cycle path beside the canal, past the traces of suburban villas, to the park of Villa Finzi and the square that remembers the 184 children killed at Gorla in 1944.

Best time: Morning or a weekend afternoon, when walkers and cyclists use the canal path

The route, stop by stop

1
Chiesa del Sacro Volto
Via Sebenico 31, Isola. Built in 1934, consecrated by Cardinal Schuster in 1936. Don Eugenio Bussa, who hid and saved many Jewish children during the Second World War and is recognised by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations, is buried here. 10 min.
2
Cassina de' Pomm
Via Melchiorre Gioia: a 15th-century courtyard farmhouse, among the oldest intact in the city, from the Sforza apple orchards (pomm = apples). Later an inn and horse-change post on the Martesana where Stendhal, Casanova, Garibaldi and Napoleon are said to have stayed; then an osteria. Here the canal, covered under Via Melchiorre Gioia towards the centre, runs in the open. 15 min.
3
Villa Finzi park
Walk the towpath cycle lane along the Martesana (named by Francesco Sforza in 1457, dug from 1460, bringing Adda water to Milan); the route was lined with patrician suburban villas whose traces you still see. The park of Villa Finzi sits by the canal at Gorla. 30 min.
4
Piazza dei Piccoli Martiri
Gorla's square is named for the 184 pupils of the Francesco Crispi primary school, killed with 19 teachers, the head and 5 staff when Allied B-24s aiming at the Breda works at Sesto bombed the district on the morning of 20 October 1944; a monument was raised in their memory. Viale Monza is a few steps away. 15 min.

Walking directions

Isola to the Martesana canal: Sacro Volto to Gorla

The route, stop by stop

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