Le scale della costiera

Praiano's stairways form a network woven through its steep coastal settlement. Stone flights link houses, gardens and religious buildings across a landscape in which changes of level shape the town as strongly as its streets.

Why it matters

The stairways are not a single ceremonial monument. They belong to the everyday fabric of a town formed from scattered hamlets, explaining how coastal communities adapted settlement and movement to difficult terrain.

What to notice

Long flights alternate with narrow passages and small openings between buildings. Walled gardens, terraces and roofs create a close architectural setting against the wider expanse of the sea. The San Domenico stairway is particularly associated with the religious complex of Santa Maria a Castro above Vettica Maggiore.

Context and history

Praiano's history distinguishes the upper settlement of Praiano and lower Vettica Maggiore, with agricultural and maritime livelihoods contributing to their different characters. Before the coastal road, paths and steps carried much of the movement between these levels. A local historical account records roof tiles for Santa Maria a Castro being brought by sea in 1735 and carried uphill from Gavitella by volunteers: a vivid example of the labour involved in building on this coast.