Introductory Panel
The room also recounts the dispute that arose between Pietro Gallarati and Cicco Simonetta, lord of Sartirana, for the strengthening of the water system in their territories. Simonetta, in fact, intended to extend the Gamarra from Vinzaglio to Sartirana, Gallarati, in turn, already at the end of 1465, advised by the mayor of Cozzo, Castello de Brena, had started negotiations with the owners and communities interested in the route of a new canal from Cozzo to Valle Lomellina, supported in this, then, by the license granted by the Duchess of Milan Bianca Maria Visconti Sforza on 22 May 1466, to him and his heirs, to derive water from the Sesia between Vercelli and Langosco, place a sluice in the place he chose and trace a cable there.
In 1471 Simonetta proposed an agreement, approved on 9 March 1472, in which it was arranged that Simonetta and Gallarati collaborate in the excavation of the canal and jointly exploit its water resources, according to the calculations prepared by the experts.
The Ducal Privilege, in practice, ratified this agreement: the use of the Gamerra leaving Vinzaglio and returning to Sesia was authorized by both, specifying the water rights owned downstream of the Pomo and Santo Iacomo mills, and mentioning the already existing Molino de S. Horatio. The new canal was supposed to supply the territories of Palestro, Rosasco, Cozzo and Sartirana through cables, ditches, locks and the necessary systems. In the same month of December, on the 17th, Galeazzo Maria allowed Cicco and Pietro to combine the water of the Gamarra with that of the ‘Roggia Nuova’, Cicco Simonetta’s project, which had only just begun, on the same territory.
The works for the Gamarra were started in 1474, under the direction of the engineers Maffeo Balaroto or Bagarotti, from Cremona, among the most accredited technicians at the court in terms of hydraulics, and Pedrone della Torrazza, father of the better-known Filippo, also important hydraulic engineer active at the turn of the century. In 1476 the work could be said to be completed and, although discussions and pending issues still remained open, its functionality was immediately evident and much appreciated.