OlonaGreenWay

The Olona and the cotton mill Cantoni

The rebirth of the river

In the 2000s, urban transformation involved the course of the river in the area of the former Cantoni, where the large textile factory was built in correspondence with the mills that exist here.

This section of Olona river highlights the work carried out within Cantoni cotton mill- "Cantonificiu" in dialect of Legnano- a textile company operating between 1828 and 2004.
A new almost straight riverbed was dug to increase the driving force deriving from the flow of the river in 1860, which led to the elimination of the natural loops of the watercourse. In addition, "Cantoni Canal", an artificial watercourse for the exclusive use of the plant, was built and it was completed in 1868.
Unfortunately, in this period many of the ancient mills that stood on the banks of Olona river were demolished, later replaced by more modern systems equipped with more efficient hydraulic wheels that were replaced in turn by steam engines.