3. Navigli Lombardi
Navigli Lombardi is the company in the Regional System responsible for promotion and heritage and tourism
initiatives for the Navigli System, a network of five historic canals dating back to the 12th century.
The Company operates on behalf of its Members (the Regional, Provincial and Municipal Authorities, Chambers of
Commerce), in order to:
•create services for the development of tourism in the area;
•plan and carry out development projects for the area through public-private partnerships in a teamwork
context;
•plan and organise events and occasions for sport, leisure, art, design, music, performances also obtaining
funding from European, state and regional bodies.
6. The Darsena dock project
Navigli Lombardi works alongside and supports the
Milan Municipal Authority in the development and
execution of the recovery project for the Milan Darsena
dock in view of EXPO 2015.
When work is completed (end of 2014), the city will
have its old commercial dock back, with spaces devoted
to a market, restaurants, bars, shops and services and a
new harbour where tourists can enjoy the canals on the
water or strolling along boardwalks.
In the heart of Milan,
the outsideEXPO 2015.
8. Expo 2015
108 paesi partecipanti, 9 aree tematiche , spazi riservati alla società civile
9. Water incubator of life
A primordial element which throughout its
cycle of transformation is an essential
condition for life.
Water forms and transforms matter,
modelling it, and renews itself over time as it
changes state. A force nature and natural
resource in a thriving and diversified
environment which needs it as food, to grow
and in order to evolve.
Man finds, tames, and harnesses water to
regenerate himself and in turn to give new
shape to matter, life.
Water
10. The Navigli
Navigli, vectors of material, social and
spiritual progress
Milan arose in the centre of the Po Valley and had
no access to water. But the ingenuity of 12th century
engineers drew water from the Ticino and Adda
rivers, channelling it into a complex system of
waterways completed in the 19th century which
comprises the five canals of Lombardy. The water
flowing through these canals was the life blood of
the countryside, irrigating, flooding. It fed, washed
and provided for the basic necessities of the peoples
of many areas. It generated energy for mills and
later, for factories, and even later, for hydroelectric
stations. It created links between individuals and
towns, stimulating tangible and intangible exchange
with the transport of goods and people, fostering
the development of cultures and traditions...
Over the centuries the canals have spurred progress
among the local populations and given shape to the
works of man.
11. The Festival
Everyone involved in making the most of the area will be
meeting up on the Navigli for a festival to celebrate the
historic Milanese canals and the element of which they are
made: water.
FAN - Navigli Acqua Festival is a series of events and
initiatives on the Navigli, where the creativity and
productivity of the area, fed by the water, translates into
services, leisure amenities, culture, entertainment.
The PROJECT is developed over 3 years starting in 2013
and reaching a climax in May 2015, to coincide with the
opening of the World Fair.
2013 will be a year of preparation and will feature a series
of micro events on the Navigli and around the city (from 5
to 21 April 2013).
2014 is “year zero” with a calendar of events on in Milan
and on the Navigli focusing on the local specialities in Milan
and Lombardy in terms of quality produce, innovation and
cultural traditions (April – May 2014).
12. The Festival 2013
The 2013 edition will take place from 5 April 2013 to 21 April
2013 (salon from 9 to 14)
The festival will feature two main events:
•Art parade: an open air exhibition in the inner circle of the
city, along the marble route, in order to promote FAN. In
order to promote the exhibition, it has been decided to use
a symbol, a sort of marker which immediately brings to
mind water and therefore the Navigli. The element chosen
for the 2013 edition is a boat (e.g. an origami boat), with a
meaning that is simple and immediate as well as evocative
and rich in emotional connotations. The objective is to
“invade” the city with boats which will be represented by
means of simple gadgets or flyers but also through actual
art installations.
•Calendar of events, activities and performances along the
Navigli during the period of reference. The Navigli will be
transformed into a workshop of ideas and initiatives which
will bring together all kinds of different forms of creative
expression under a single umbrella.
13. The Festival 2013
The 2013 edition of “FAN”, which is intended to be an experiment
to demonstrate the potential of the Navigli System and the
Darsena dock as its hub, and will feature a series of micro events
(exhibitions, workshops, installations and artistic performances) in
collaboration with a number of subjects operating in the arts and
academia (NABA, Politecnico, Columbia University, Cracking Art
Group and other professional artists).
As far as the logistics are concerned, floating structures will be
constructed which, together with courtyards and some of the most
picturesque locations along the Navigli will host the various events.
The aim is to create an art park, restoring vitality and stimulus to an
area which is a symbol of the city, improving the quality of life of the
residents as well as the level of services on offer.
14. The Festival 2013
ART PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
“Navigli Station: …from another side”
In collaboration with NABA, organised by Stefano Boccalini
15 selected students will undertake a voyage along the Navigli and use
photography to produce unique interpretations of the water as it is
filtered through the poetic sensibility of these young artists.
The images will be collected and exhibited in a show during the festival.
Apart from displaying the photos, the exhibition will feature a multimedia
show and corollary events such as seminars and
presentations/projections in the presence of the students and teachers
who carried out the project.
15. The Festival 2013
NAVIGLI STATION … from another side
The project, organised by Stefano Boccalini, an artist and
teacher at NABA, aims to investigate the area of the
Lombardy Navigli canal system. Together with his students
in the Public Art course and the Master in Landscape Design,
Boccalini will try to use the publication of a “tourist guide” in
order to present an image of the navigli and its area that
goes beyond the conventional stereotypes.
The experience of the young artists taking part in the project
will be used to highlight certain aspects of the landscape
starting with the waterways and the surrounding places. The
landscape, in this case, will be understood as a physical
place, but also as an anthropological place. This means that
besides looking at the architecture and natural landscape,
the area will also be considered from the point of view of
those who inhabit it and the consequent social context.
Throughout the festival an exhibition will be organised with
some of the materials produced during the workshop. At the
same time, there will be collateral events which generate
interaction with the public and promote the canals and
surrounding areas.
16. The Festival 2013
Architecture and Design WORKSHOP
“(Un) Taming The Navigli”
Liberating the hidden potentialities of the canals’ system Spring 2013 Workshop
8 April – 13 April 2013 (in parallel with the Furniture Salon)
In collaboration with:
•Frederic Levrat - Columbia University GSAPP, New York;
•Oliviero Godi – Polytechnic of Milan, Department of Architecture.
24 selected students will work for 6 days in a floating workshop specially
built on the Navigli.
17. The Festival 2013
(UN)TAMING THE NAVIGLI
Theme:
Looking at the Navigli as a system stretching from the upper
Ticino and Adda rivers, entering Milano to arrive in Pavia.
Re-enabling the perception of the Navigli as a place for
events, that can only take place thanks of its body of water.
Body of water - shared space for the community.
Extension of the perception through the physical extensions pedestrian,
boat, bicycle.
Extension of the perception through the digital realm.
Lectures:
Every evening a lecture will be held at the Greentainer
Lounge in relation to the theme of the workshop, with
participants from Italy and abroad.
The project’s sites are located along the Navigli.
The workshop will attempt to reconcile the diverse layers of:
the build environment, the waterways and the digital
environment, with the design of public spaces, spaces for
events, performances and leisure on and around the Navigli.
Unexpected encounters will be explored through the prism of
these multi dimensional layers, evaluating their impact on the
design of a contemporary, yet unusual,public space.
18. The Festival 2013
CRACKING ART GROUP
Frogs invasion
In collaboration with Cracking Art Group.
Thousands of frogs will invade the Navigli and the Darsena dock for
the duration of the festival.
Performances will also be organised to set the frogs floating down the
Navigli.
Once the festival is over, the frogs will be put on sale and the money
raised will go towards the restoration of a heritage site along the
Navigli selected in collaboration with FAI, the Italian National Trust.
19. The Festival 2013
CONTAINER LOUNGE – Greentainer
In collaboration with Oliviero Godi & Dorit Mizrahi Exposure Architects.
During the days of the festival a floating container will be positioned along
the Navigli.
A location 60mq (12x5m) comprising a closed space with glass walls (2,45 x
12m) for small-scale events (exhibitions, concerts, readings, creative
workshops), as well as workshops and relaxation areas for visitors.
A free WiFi area will also be set up during the festival for all the visitors to
the event.
20. The Festival 2013
THE LONG SCARF FOR THE NAVIGLIO GRANDE
There will be an event during the Festival to promote an
initiative by Associazione Culturale Coinvolgente. A scarf will
be made for the Naviglio Grande, to wrap around it and
protect it, made by those who love it.
The scarf, which to date is 2 km long and has been worked
on by hundreds of people, will be displayed along the banks
of the first section of Naviglio Grande.
There will also be a space along the Naviglio where visitors
can use the facilities and contribute to the initiative by
making their own piece of scarf 30 cm wide and at least 40
cm long from fabric remnants.
21. The Festival 2013
BOOK BARGE EXHIBITION
There will be a space on the water devoted to books and publications
focusing on the Navigli. To coincide with the inauguration of the
archive, the Centro Documentale Navigli, there will be an exhibition
on board a boat so that in the course of the normal ferry schedule,
passengers can take a look at old navigation log books and maps.
A wealth of precious books will be on display in the company head
offices along the Navigli together with other publications on the
Navigli canal system. These can be consulted in special reading areas
set up in the exhibition spaces.
22. The Festival 2013
BOAT PARADE
In collaboration with major Milanese and Italian street artists, the art parade for
the 2013 edition of FAN features an object which can immediately be identified
with the Navigli: a boat.
A “floating” art performance will comprise about 50 2-metre long installations
made of plastic or aluminium, personalised by street artists and scattered
around the Navigli area and the inner circle of the city (where the Navigli are
still present, albeit invisible, being underground).
Boat-shaped flyers (made like origami) will be distributed all over Milan to
promote the calendar of events on the Navigli.
Boat-shaped gadgets made of plastic will be made and sold to promote the
event and the proceeds will go to charity.
