The Navicelli Canal was built by the Medici in the second half of the 16th century to connect Pisa with Livorno and therefore with the network of canals leading to the Medici port, where the fleet had been transferred, given that the old Porto Pisano was being definitively covered up . The entry into the city of Livorno took place in the New Venice district through the so-called Dogana d'Acqua, a customs barrier that regulated the entry and exit of boats (just the characteristic "navicelli", flat-bottomed boats of mt. 5 x 2) and prevented the smuggling of goods.
Near the Porta a Mare in Pisa, at the northern end of the canal, it exchanged its waters with the Arno river thanks to a system of locks, thus completing the waterway connection between the two cities.
Initially the canal was longer than the current one, but it was narrower and with a reduced draft, however sufficient to satisfy the function of the main means of freight transport, at least until the introduction of the railway line in the early nineteenth century. In the first half of the twentieth century the route of the canal was rationalized by reducing the length to 18 km, but increasing the width to 35 mt and the depth to 3 mt.
The bombings of World War II concentrated on the two ends of the canal: all the boats and all the surrounding urban, economic and human settlements were destroyed, all activities then disappeared and the canal was practically dead.
The rebirth took place in the 1980s, when entrepreneurial activities were reborn, specialized above all in the construction, repair and storage of rescue boats.
Today a cycle path is being completed which from via di Viaccia (near Porta a Mare di Pisa, where it intersects the "Ciclovia del Trammino") runs along the canal to the only bridge, after a straight and flat path of 8 km on a dirt road that can also be traveled by touring bikes.
This stretch could be part of a project aimed at developing cycle tourism. The path is lined with trees, but these are often still too small to provide shade. There are a couple of rest stops with benches and tables, but not in perfect condition. Information panels also need to be completed and maintained.