We are delighted to share that “Cammino ’44” – the long-awaited walking route connecting Sant’Anna di Stazzema to Monte Sole – is about to become a reality. This Saturday, 20 June, the first march sets off from the Piazza del Duomo in Pietrasanta, with walkers expected to complete their journey at Monte Sole on 1 July. It is a moment our Italian branch has been working hard for months and we have been looking forward to with great anticipation.
Il Cammino ’44 is a secular memory trail, conceived and developed by LRE Italy, our Italian branch, in close partnership and with the support of the Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions. Spanning 180 kilometres through mountain landscapes, historic villages and picturesque scenery across Alta Versilia, the Serchio Valley, the Pistoia mountains and the Bolognese Apennines, it links two of the most significant sites of twentieth-century Italian history. The route is part of the Liberation Route Europe, the European network of hiking and cycling routes dedicated to the history of the Second World War.
All stages of the “Cammino ’44” are well-distributed, with accommodation and refreshment services along the way, and dedicated signposting at each entry and exit point. It can be walked as a continuous journey of around twelve days, or tackled one stage at a time. In this way, the exercise of memory becomes something active, lived and shared: a walk that weaves together slow tourism, culture, nature and history, and brings people into direct contact with stories and places that are part of Italy’s, and Europe’s, collective heritage.
The inaugural ceremony on June 20 will bring together regional leadership from both Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, reflecting the broad institutional commitment to this project and to the preservation of living memory. Their presence speaks to the significance of what this route represents: not just a walking itinerary, but a shared responsibility to remember the civilian victims of the Second World War.
One of the highlights of the morning will be a conversation with Mario Marsili, one of the very few surviving witnesses of the Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre. As a symbolic gesture, each walker will receive a scarf to carry along the route and present at both Sant’Anna di Stazzema and Monte Sole – a small but deeply meaningful act, connecting those walking today with the memory of the communities that suffered there in 1944.
We want to address our sincere congratulations to Carlo Puddu, Director of LRE Italy, and Katia Gerunda, Marketing Executive, for their outstanding efforts in turning this vision into reality.
Il Cammino ’44 is now available on its own dedicated website (www.cammino44.it) and on liberationroute.com, where walkers, educators, and all those who wish to engage with this chapter of European history can find everything they need – whether to plan their own journey or to explore the stories from afar.
We warmly invite everyone to join, whether on foot this Saturday or along the way in the days that follow. The route is open to all.
For more information, make sure to follow @Cammino_44 on Instagram
