Carta Topografica del Corso antico, e moderno De' Trè Torrenti Fontanile di Tradate Gradeluso e Bozzente

Large hydrographic map of the province of Varese, taken from the extremely rare PIANO DELLA SEPARAZIONE, INALVEAZIONE, E SFOGO DE’ TRE TORRENTI DI TRADATE, del Gardaluso, e del Bozzente. A Sua Altezza Serenissim Il Sig. Duca di Modena ec. Amministratore del Governo, e Capitano Generale della Lombardia Austriaca ec by Antonio Lecchi.

Themap, considered the first hydrogeological study of the Tradate area, dates back to 1762 and represents the results of the study conducted following the disaster of 1756, when the floods of the Fontanile di Tradate and the Bozzente caused considerable damage to property and people.

The topographic map, which depicts the entire area in relation to the streams that flow through it, was likely part of a study aimed at establishing the first water management consortium.

Antonio Giovanni Lecchi (1702-1776), was an Italian Jesuit mathematician, physicist and engineer. The book is dedicated to the Duke of Modena, the study looks in detail at plans to separate and channel three streams and rivers in Lombardy near Tradate (north of Milan), the Tradate, Gardaluso and Bozzente. Of particular note is the large folding, hand-coloured engraved ‘Carta Topografica del corso antico, e moderno de trè torrenti fontanile di Tradate, Gradeluso [sic] e Bozzente’. From 1738 to 1773 Lecchi taught mathematics and hydraulics at the Jesuit College of Brera in Milan, during which time he also worked as a technical consultant for the Senate of Milan on hydraulic matters. From 1757 he worked mainly as a hydraulic engineer, and was commissioned by both the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa and Pope Clement XIII. The author of numerous works, he is probably best remembered for his Trattato de’ canale navigabili of 1776, a detailed history of inland navigation in Italy and in particular Milan.