During the Second World War, the Pra Bon area, located in the mountainous territory of the Municipality of Zeri (Massa-Carrara), played a strategic role in the supply network organized by the Allies for the partisan formations active in the Ligurian-Tuscan-Emilian Apennines.
The location, a high grassy expanse located near the Foce di Prabono, was used as a launch field for materials intended for the liberation struggle. Due to its isolated position, difficult to access by land but visible from the sky and large enough to receive airdrops, Pra Bon was ideal for this purpose.
Allied aircraft — generally taking off from southern Italy or from bases in Corsica — carried out night airdrops of weapons, ammunition, food, medicines and radio equipment intended for the partisan detachments operating in the area. The materials were parachuted and collected on site by the partisan brigades, who then took care of their distribution and protection.
The operations were not without risks. The area was subject to continuous roundups by Nazi-Fascist forces, aware of the logistical importance of those places. In particular, on August 3, 1944, near the nearby Monte Picchiara, a violent clash took place between partisan forces and German troops during one of these roundups.
The toponym "Pra Bon" or "Pra Bono", which means "good meadow" in the local dialect, still evokes the memory of that period: from a place of transhumance and summer pasture, it was transformed for a few crucial months into a clandestine hub of the Resistance, a meeting point between the mountains of Lunigiana and the liberated skies.