Paullo: Cycling Route, Water and Architectural Heritage

Two themes offer a way to explore Paullo: the plain’s water management and the town’s cultural history. The cycling route, Casa dell’Acqua, churches and works of art provide different starting points for getting to know the town’s character. There is also a woodland project on a former farm site and a local connection to Carnaroli rice. If you are planning a stay in Paullo, these highlights can help you find your way among the landscape, architecture and festival traditions.

Cycling Route and Water Landscape

The Paullo cycling route starts and ends at the Punto Parco Casa dell’Acqua in Paullo. It runs along the banks of Lago Gerundo and the irrigation ditches of the Lodi Plain, while also offering glimpses of the rural landscape of Parco Agricolo Sud Milano. The name Lago Gerundo refers here to a historical landscape setting. Along the route, you will encounter connections to water management and irrigation as well as to the park’s rural surroundings. The route is a practical option if cycling and landscape are among your travel interests.

Casa dell’Acqua and Water Management

Casa dell’Acqua is a cultural and educational centre at the site of the hydraulic control station of the Consorzio Bonifica Muzza Bassa Lodigiana. It hosts cultural and educational activities, as well as general information activities, which aim to promote understanding of the area’s water culture and rural and hydrological features. The control station has presumably been an important hub for regulating flows in the Canale Muzza and the Addetta drainage canal since the 13th century. It continues to serve this hydraulic function today. Water here is therefore both a subject of educational activities and part of an ongoing local function.

Planned activities at Casa dell’Acqua include guided cycling and walking excursions along the towpaths of the Canale Muzza. They are set to include educational stops and tastings of products from the park. If you would like to plan one of these excursions, it is advisable to check in advance whether a specific date is available.

Sacred Architecture and Works of Art

The Santuario di Santa Maria in Pratello combines a distinctive interior layout with finely crafted architectural features. It has a single-nave interior with a vault decorated with panels and raised flowers. The building also includes a portal with columns and statues, as well as a bell tower proportioned to the structure. A single-nave interior is arranged around a main nave; the vault decoration adds its own design accent.

Other churches in Paullo represent different historical and architectural aspects. The Chiesa dei Santi Quirico e Giulitta was recorded in 1584 as a parish with the title of a rectoral parish. The Chiesa di San Tarcisio, by contrast, was built in the 1970s as part of a residential neighbourhood, to a design by architect Gianfranco Andreoni. Paullo is also home to a Madonna con Bambino made of wood, which is carved, painted and gilded, and dates from 1590 to 1610. Together, these examples offer different points of interest: a sacred interior, a historical parish designation, a church built as part of a residential neighbourhood, and a dated work of art.

Woodland Project and Rice Festival

The Forestami project is located on the former site of Cascina Tombona. The 4,395-square-metre area was transformed into woodland. This project adds a distinct perspective on Paullo’s landscape to the area’s connections with water and agriculture: the transformation of a former site.

Paullo has committed to celebrating the Carnaroli rice grown in the town every year. Another festival tradition is El dì de la festa, the town’s traditional rice festival. The 2026 edition was organised in Parco Muzza by Pro Loco and the municipality, and included three days of performances, concerts and sporting activities. If you are interested in the festival, check the dates for the relevant edition.

Discover more destinations: Arluno, Magnago, Rescaldina, Pogliano Milanese, San Donato Milanese, Melzo, Ortica, Cusano Milanino

For the main travel overview: Milan.