The folklore staircase is one of the protagonist site of Termoli summer calendar. Its realization dates back to the 1930s, from a design by podestà Cieri, to structure the natural embankment that connected via Aubry to Vittorio Emanuele III. In 1939 the project was realized with the realization of a first marble staircase.
The Folklore Staircase is adjacent to Crema palace, a building built in the 1920s that for centuries in the center was protagonist of stories and strange local legends, from almost 27 years it has become a phantom and abandoned structure. Throughout its history, the staircase has undergone various restoration work, from the oldest damages, caused during World War II, to the latest in 2017. Just this year, near the staircase, a pedestrian square with a view on old town, Belvedere tower and port. On the instructions of Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has been respected the architectural spirit of the area: the white stone in the center, the porphyry strip opus incertum (the material chosen is so called) and the travertine design that evokes the waves and the movement of the sea. Folklore Staircase is known for being the location, especially in summer, of the major shows of music and entertainment devoted to local use and customs.
The typical costumes of Termoli are very simple. The women wore a white shirt completed with a tulle or lace around her neck, a long cotton skirt, a very low closed body with strings, a apron, a handkerchief on her head knotted under her chin, white cotton socks and felt shoes. There no much news about the characteristics of the men’s costume, which, in any case, resembled the fishermen of the time: white and blue cotton shirt, pants until the ankles, clogs and colored belt.
To preserve the traditions of Termoli there are many exhibitions of the most famous local folkloric groups. In addition to popular songs, U’Battellucc and San Sebastiano, to name a few, there are typical dances. ‘Shcaffétte, one of the few groups in Italy to express the typical folklore, re-elaborates particular movements and gestures of some types of fishing, now in disuse, turning them into dance. Remember the games of the past and typical local life situations. Remember the games of the past and typical local life situations. The association was founded in 1982 with the aim to preserve the uses and customs of its people through oral and bibliographic research.