Cernusco sul Naviglio: Canal, Culture and Holiday Apartment

A holiday apartment in Cernusco sul Naviglio combines a waterside landscape, urban history and active days. The Naviglio della Martesana is a waterway of historical, ecological and cultural importance here. A series of interconnected parks stretches for approximately three kilometres along the Naviglio, forming a leisure, educational and historical tourism route.

Holiday apartment in Cernusco sul Naviglio between canal and culture

The cycle path along the Alzaia Naviglio Martesana leads directly from Cernusco sul Naviglio to Milan and in the opposite direction to Trezzo d’Adda; the total route along the canal is more than 30 kilometres long. In addition, there is a network of cycle paths and footpaths approximately 30 kilometres long, connecting parks and existing green spaces and allowing the city to be crossed exclusively by bicycle from north to south and from east to west. In the east, near the border with Cassina de’ Pecchi, the Ponte Levatoio connects both banks of the Naviglio and provides safe access to Parco Azzurro dei Germani on foot or by bicycle.

Silk history, villas and distinctive gardens

In the historic centre, a walking route explores the history of silk production. On Piazza della Repubblica, a sculpture by Nado Canuti depicts the transformation of a silkworm into a cocoon and chrysalis. Parco di Villa Alari was designed as a geometric French-style garden with a theatre, pond, fountain with water features, statues, tree-lined avenues, pergolas, hedges and shrubs. Regular guided tours of the rooms of Villa Alari and its restored frescoes have been announced; advance reservation is required for access.

Villa Uboldo was conceived as a Casa Museo to house part of the art collections for which Ambrogio Uboldo was known. Villa Biancani Greppi historically overlooked the Naviglio; at the end of a tree-lined avenue corresponding to today’s Via Cavour, there was a landing place.

Churches, pilgrimage and local history

The Santuario di Santa Maria Addolorata is considered the oldest surviving building in Cernusco sul Naviglio. The chapel continues to be used as a pilgrimage destination and a place of intensive prayer. The Festa di Santa Maria is traditionally celebrated on the third Sunday in September; for 2026, 20 September was indicated.

The Chiesa parrocchiale di Santa Maria Assunta was consecrated on 17 July 1932 by Cardinal Ildefonso Schuster. Its tripartite gabled façade has three portals and a central oculus. A plaque above the main portal of the Chiesa di San Rocco dates the construction to 1567 and attributes it to the brothers Alberto and Camillo Litta. The church was built on the foundations of an existing late-15th-century church; the altarpiece from this older church has survived.

Waterways in the diorama and observations in the sky

A diorama depicts the network of historic waterways in the Milan area over a diameter of more than 40 metres, at a scale of 1:1,800. An elevated tribune has 60 seats arranged in four rows of steps. There, students can use model boats to simulate the historic transport of goods by water, which was carried out with barges until the 1950s. The astronomical observatory’s Newtonian telescope is suitable for observing galaxies and nebulae, while the Cassegrain telescope is used to observe the Moon and planets.

When choosing your holiday apartment in Cernusco sul Naviglio, you can set the focus of your days between canal and park paths, silk history, villas, churches, waterways and stargazing.

Further destinations for orientation: Paullo, Zibido San Giacomo, Trezzo Sull’adda, Cinisello Balsamo, Castellazzo, Arcore, Buscate and Cassina de’ Pecchi.

For the broader travel overview: Milan.