The project was seen as being of great public benefit: since the war between Milan and Venice, Sforza had realised the military and economic potential of a navigable canal in an area that, at the time, was considered to be of strategic importance to the dukedom.

Between 1484 and 1500, Leonardo da Vinci was a guest of the Sforza court and during the 19th century was at times credited with the design of the basins and a direct participation in the completion of the Martesana.

Today all that is certain is that in the schematic image of Milan in plan and horizontal profile the Martesana is reported by Leonardo as an already completed work, while in a subsequent sheet the drawings and notes relating to the basin of San Marco, which will determine the construction methods of the hydraulic device for the future can be seen.

[1] On the other hand, it is certain that in 1516 Francesco I commissioned Leonardo, on the occasion of his second stay at Ambrosia, to design a direct link between Milan and the Adda upstream of its non-navigable stretch, between Paderno and Trezzo.

But the Sforza dream of connecting Milan directly with Lake Como had to wait almost another three centuries: after many attempts, the difference in height of the Adda between Brivio and Trezzo was overcome by the Naviglio di Paderno only in October 1777.