Who we are
The Laghetto Congress Center is an elegant and fully functional congress centre ideal for organizing any type of event, both business and private.Housed in a historic building (XVI Cen.) in the heart of Milan and close to the Piazza del Duomo, the Laghetto Congress Center is equipped with the most modern congress facilities. The Laghetto Congress Center is alongside Piazza S. Stefano in Brolo in an "Old Milan" street that links Milan University with the Milan Law Courts.
A little history
The small lake (Italian laghetto) of the city of Milan was landfilled in 1857."Starting from Borgo di Porta Orientale (the Corso Venezia) the Acqualunga was landfilled, followed in 1838 by the filling of Roggia Borgognona along Corso di Porta Tosa (Corso di Porta Vittoria) and in 1857, all of a sudden, the Laghetto di S.Stefano disappeared."
The Construction of the Duomo Cathedral in 1386 required the transport of tons of marble into the centre of Milan, quarried from the banks of Lago Maggiore (Candoglia) intensifying the use of the Naviglio Grande canal.
This activity revealed the inconvenience of the "port" of S. Eustorgio, which was too far from the final destination for the numerous materials (stone, gravel, sand, timber).
Furthermore, the internal Naviglio canal is higher by 5 "arms" (about 3 metres) compared to S. Eustorgio and it was very difficult to overcome this height difference. A combination of economic and political interests thus provided the decisive impetus for a solution to the problem with the creation of the "basin" of Viarenna in 1439.
This "basin", formed by opening and closing two locks separated by a distance sufficient to contain a ship, made it possible to overcome this height difference, both in ascent and descent, rapidly and with limited manpower.
The boats bearing their heavy and bulky loads thus managed to reach the "laghetto" of S. Stefano in Brolo in the heart of the city.
P. Colussi "Milan - aquatic city and sea port"
Via Laghetto today
The transport of marble from Candoglia
The "Laghetto" - S. Stefano in Brolo