Actually, in Italian it's "la scala."  Which of course demands an explanation of how that opera house in Milan got its name.  Turns out it was built on the site of a church named after the Virgin of the Staircase, which had something to do with the miracle of a midwife reviving a baby while praying under a staircase where religious artwork had been placed.  Learn something every day (and probaby crowd out some useful tax information while at it.)