Sentiero di Leonardo

The Vie del Viandante are a group of twelve routes along an international historical trail around 220 kilometres long, combining culture and nature, incredible views, opportunities to practice sports and wellness. This group of trails connects the San Bernardino Pass to Milan, crossing the picturesque Mesolcina Valley and the Valchiavenna and skirting the enchanting shores of Lake Como and the banks of the River Adda. 

One of the twelve Vie del Viandante is the Sentiero di Leonardo, a gentle cycle and pedestrian path that runs along the banks of the River Adda and connects Lecco to Milan. It is mainly flat or with slight height differences, for the most part paved with some gaps. Accessible on foot or by bicycle, including for children, most of the Leonardo Trail can also be accessed by people in wheelchairs. 

From Lecco, the route heads toward the lakes of Garlate and Olginate and then continues along the River Adda to the Naviglio della Martesana, passing through Cassano d’Adda, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Vimodrone before arriving in Milan. 

The route is accessible at all times of the year and can be covered by bicycle in a single day, returning by public transport. For hikers, it can be divided into four stages: 

Lecco – Imbersago (21.3 km)
Imbersago – Cassano d’Adda (25.8 km)
Cassano d’Adda – Cernusco sul Naviglio (15.9 km)
Cernusco sul Naviglio – Milan (16.2 km) 

The Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci once trod this path and conducted some of his studies in this very area. One example is Leonardo’s famous Traghetto, a copy of which can be admired today in Imbersago, along the route that skirts the Adda. 

The Sentiero di Leonardo passes through many places of historical and cultural interest: the San Michele Bridge in Paderno d’Adda, an important Italian example of 19th-century iron architecture; the Taccani hydroelectric power plant in Trezzo d’Adda, one of the most architecturally and technologically interesting in all of Lombardy; and the Worker’s Village of Crespi d’Adda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995 and almost unique of its kind in Italy: a village created to house workers, employees and managers of Cristoforo Benigno Crespi’s cotton mill, along with their families.