The Roggia Curna is part of the complex irrigation system of the Bergamo area, developed both in the city and in the provincial territory.
The history of Bergamo's irrigation channels is very long. Their presence was already necessary in antiquity due to the peculiar hydrography of Bergamo, which has never had a natural watercourse close enough to meet its needs and had to design, therefore, the redirection of sources from more distant places. The canals built for this purpose have become decisive for the development of the city, also influencing its urban layout.
Like the Roggia Colleonesca, the Roggia Curna derives from the Roggia Morlana, built in the 12th century. Flanked by magnificent plane trees and alders, it crosses the plain of Astino making a large arc between the cultivated fields, even if today it is no longer used for their irrigation, but to direct the excess rainwater that flows down from the hills.
Its original project was conceived by the Benedictines of Astino (about 1100) to direct the waters of the Serio river to the fields in the west: Mozzo, Curno, Treviolo and San Pietro. It was reopened and improved in 1475 on the orders of Bartolomeo Colleoni, who wanted to make the irrigation system more efficient to make his territory more profitable.
The canal is therefore over 500 years old and is an important historical-landscape testimony of the city. This is because its presence has not left signs only in the Astino Valley. In Via Sant'Alessandro in Bergamo, immediately after the intersection with Via Borfuro, it is possible to notice a couple of engraved slabs on the pavement, which indicate the place where the ancient route of the canal ran. In Curno, on the other hand, there is a historic mill that is still functioning, built along the final stretch of the canal and fed by the waters of the canal until the 1960s.
The Roggia Curna today constitutes, in its lowest stretch, a real ecological corridor full of reeds, local fauna and flora. Of course, it requires periodic maintenance, to avoid natural burial.
Not far away you will find the Astino Monastery, Biodiversity Valley and the Ripa Pasqualina Stairway, which climbs the slope of the hill to reach the area of Via San Martino della Pigrizia and the beautiful Borgo Canale, where Gaetano Donizetti was born.
The irrigation channel is now kept in operation and periodically drained by the Consorzio di Bonifica della Media Pianura Bergamasca, a public law body whose establishment dates back to 1955.
The Roggia Curna is part of the complex irrigation system of the Bergamo area, developed both in the city and in the provincial territory.
The history of Bergamo's irrigation channels is very long. Their presence was already necessary in antiquity due to the peculiar hydrography of Bergamo, which has never had a natural watercourse close enough to meet its needs and had to design, therefore, the redirection of sources from more distant places. The canals built for this purpose have become decisive for the development of the city, also influencing its urban layout.
Like the Roggia Colleonesca, the Roggia Curna derives from the Roggia Morlana, built in the 12th century. Flanked by magnificent plane trees and alders, it crosses the plain of Astino making a large arc between the cultivated fields, even if today it is no longer used for their irrigation, but to direct the excess rainwater that flows down from the hills.
Its original project was conceived by the Benedictines of Astino (about 1100) to direct the waters of the Serio river to the fields in the west: Mozzo, Curno, Treviolo and San Pietro. It was reopened and improved in 1475 on the orders of Bartolomeo Colleoni, who wanted to make the irrigation system more efficient to make his territory more profitable.
The canal is therefore over 500 years old and is an important historical-landscape testimony of the city. This is because its presence has not left signs only in the Astino Valley. In Via Sant'Alessandro in Bergamo, immediately after the intersection with Via Borfuro, it is possible to notice a couple of engraved slabs on the pavement, which indicate the place where the ancient route of the canal ran. In Curno, on the other hand, there is a historic mill that is still functioning, built along the final stretch of the canal and fed by the waters of the canal until the 1960s.
The Roggia Curna today constitutes, in its lowest stretch, a real ecological corridor full of reeds, local fauna and flora. Of course, it requires periodic maintenance, to avoid natural burial.
Not far away you will find the Astino Monastery, Biodiversity Valley and the Ripa Pasqualina Stairway, which climbs the slope of the hill to reach the area of Via San Martino della Pigrizia and the beautiful Borgo Canale, where Gaetano Donizetti was born.
The irrigation channel is now kept in operation and periodically drained by the Consorzio di Bonifica della Media Pianura Bergamasca, a public law body whose establishment dates back to 1955.
