The Basso Olona local park of supra-municipal interest, established in 2010, occupies an area of 268 hectares, located in the municipalities of Rho (leader), Pogliano, Pregnana and Vanzago, in the north west of Milan. A peculiarity of its own lies in the name, compared with the geographical position; in fact, the Olona is a river that flows from the hills above Varese and flows into the Po, after a journey of about 120 km. Already in Roman times the river was artificially directed to Milan to contribute to the unusual lack of river water, necessary and characteristic of every large city of ancient foundation.
In the Plis del Basso Olona there is still flourishing agricultural countryside together with that of survival, caused by the fragmentation of fields between building areas, warehouses, roads and highways, centuries-old railways and very recent high speed. There is a single fountain, recovered with great care by the Pregnanese municipal administration, driven by some voluntary associations that have also succeeded in promoting knowledge.
We find some ancient farmhouses, recognizable in their original structure, commendably maintained and we also find a fully-fledged modern farmhouse, functioning and able to bear the burden of working in a very demanding peri-urban environment. Among the many abandoned, we also find the only remaining working mill along the Olona, which in its old days fed 116 of them, in just sixty kilometers.
The park is in close connection with the Roccolo park and the Mulini park, thus allowing a continuity of the ecological system along the Olona river.
Source: Wikipedia