Without doubt, the symbol of Lama Mocogno is its stairway, and you can find out all about its interesting history right here.
The current stairway probably lies on top of the original path which connected Lama Bassa, the older part of the town, with Lama Alta, the newer part. According to historical sources such as Tiraboschi, Pantanelli, Santi and Sorbelli, the origins of the old town are uncertain, and the newer part of the town grew in size and importance due to its strategic location near the two ducal roads built in the 18th century, the Via Vandelli and Via Giardini, which were frequently used by travellers and for the transportation of goods.

In Land Registry maps dating to 1892, the path was marked in the same position as today’s stairway.
Dated 7th October 1923, the technical report for the planned construction of a stairway to be named ‘Viale delle Rimembranze’ or ‘Remembrance Avenue’ in accordance with national regulations, reads as follows: “this Remembrance Avenue, which is to be lined with trees planted in memory of the soldiers fallen during the Great War, starts from the centre of the village of Lama di Sopra (Upper Lama) and leads to the group of houses known as Lama di Sotto (Lower Lama), in a straight line leading out of the village. This first section roughly follows the course of the existing local road and even partly occupies it. About halfway along, another avenue branches off at right angles and merges onto the old municipal road which runs between the two different parts of the village mentioned above.”
The preface of Municipal Council resolution no. 22, dated to 23rd December 1923, states that: the Municipal Council “plans to widen, level and adapt, for pedestrian use only, the current, almost impassable, local road, which links the two largest agglomerations in the town, i.e. Lama Piazza and Serra di Lama’, transforming it into ‘Viale delle Rimambranze’ (Remembrance Avenue).”
The above documents plainly demonstrate that there already existed a path at that time, but it had not yet taken the form of a stairway. However, it was not the 1923 project that brought about the creation of a stairway; for reasons that do not appear in any documentation available to us, the stairway was not completed until 1934-35, and was based on an entirely different project, drawn up and approved in 1933.
Photographic documentation dating to the period, recounts provided by elderly citizens already alive at the time, as well as evidence and well-founded information shared by the scholar and local history enthusiast Maestro Antonio Mazzieri, all attest to the fact that the staircase was built in stone and consisted of a series of ramps of stairs interspersed with frequent wide landings.
Towards the end of World War II, the upper part of the stairway was damaged by bombing, and this event lead to a complete makeover following the end of the war, based on a stepped ramp design.
The stairway was restored to its original design between 2017 and 2019, with the inauguration taking place on 5th May 2019.
The Monument to the Fallen of All Wars stands in the centre of the stairway and is an integral part of it: parallelepiped in shape, with pilaster strips and architrave adding movement to its surface, it features three large tombstones made of pietra serena sandstone commemorating the fallen of the First World War; four smaller tombstones, the one in the centre made of pietra serena sandstone, and the other three of white marble, are in memory of the fallen on the various fronts of the Second World War.