A Scenic Hike through Ticino Park: From Somma Lombardo to Turbigo

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Hello, fellow travelers!

In today's story, I'd like to share with you what I did on Saturday. As I had mentioned before, I planned to go on a nice bike ride, a hobby that's really growing on me. However, I found a group of friends—some cyclists and others who enjoy walking—who wanted to take a hike from the town of Somma Lombardo to Turbigo. This is in the lower part of the Milanese area, within the Ticino Park, a beautiful natural setting with fantastic trails that, as you'll see from the photos, are challenging to bike through.

First, we admired the San Vito Castle in Somma Lombardo, a 13th-century castle that is theoretically open to the public for guided tours, but we didn't stop to visit it because our goal was to hike the trail. Even at the start, it was tough to navigate because nature had somewhat taken over, but we managed it somehow.
We continued our walk along the Ticino River, covering about 19 km, most of which we walked because it was nearly impossible to proceed by bike. But I must say, it's a beautiful trail, especially for those who love forests and fields, and it's also a spot for bird-watching enthusiasts. The Ticino Park hosts a wide variety of flora and fauna.

As we continued our walk, we came across the Panperduto Dam, a place I didn't even know existed, but which turned out to be an engineering marvel and historically significant. It was built in 1884, designed by Eugenio Villoresi, and is one of the most important hydraulic hubs in Lombardy that still operates today. It's truly impressive, and I never would have thought that after all these years, it would still be so useful.

The dam consists of various barriers on the Ticino River, and their main purpose, as I understand it, is to divert water from the Ticino to feed two artificial canals that likely provide irrigation to agricultural areas and also supply several hydroelectric plants in the area.

The last part of the trail leads to a small village, though I didn't catch its name, where there was an interesting church. We then arrived at a trattoria where we had already reserved a table for lunch, marking the end of our hike.

I must say it's always great to walk in good company, especially on these trails that are in close contact with nature. Thank you all for reading this post. See you next time! Take care!