Cadenazzo has always been situated at a crossroads between communication routes across Canton Ticino and towards northern and southern Europe. Before the reclamation work carried out last century, the Magadino Plain was an unhealthy marshy area. People would travel along the River Ticino by boat and the quickest way to get to Lombardy was across Lake Maggiore. Those unable to travel by water would follow the Via Francesca. The nineteenth century saw the arrival of the canton road, surfaced roads, mail coaches and the railway. The town’s development has therefore always depended on the fact that it is a crossroads of people.
