From en.wikipedia.org:
[the city in Italy] [date=April 2019] {{Infobox Italian comune | name = Prato
| official_name = Comune di Prato | native_name = | image_skyline = Duomo
Prato 01.jpg | imagesize = | image_alt = | image_flag = Flag of Prato.svg |
image_caption = | image_shield = Prato-Stemma.svg | shield_alt = | image_map =
| map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = |
coordinates = [43] | coordinates_footnotes = | region = 21px Tuscany |
province = Prato (PO) | frazioni = See list | mayor_party = PD | mayor =
Ilaria Bugetti | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 97.35 |
population_footnotes =[1] | population_total = 198326 | population_as_of =
2025 | population_demonym = Pratese | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 65
| twin1 = | twin1_country = |istat=100005| saint = St. Stephen | day = 26
December | postal_code = 59100 | area_code = 0574 | website =
[http://www.comune.prato.it] | footnotes = }}
PRATO ([ˈ] [PRAH]; [it]) is a city and municipality (_comune_) in Tuscany,
Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the
northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of [65], at the foot of Monte Retaia
(the last peak in the Calvana chain). With 198,326 inhabitants as of 2025,
Prato is Tuscany's second largest city after Florence, and the third largest
in Central Italy.<ref name="population2" />
Historically, Prato's economy has been based on the textile industry which has
continued in recent years leading to it becoming Italy's fast fashion hub.[2]
The city's textile district, the largest in Europe, is home to about 5000
fashion companies which are largely small, Chinese-run subcontractors engaging
in illegal activity known as the "Prato system" run by Chinese organized
crime.<ref name=":2" />[3] The left wing Partito Democratico (PD) has been
implicated in the crimes with the PD mayor Ilaria Bugetti resigning after the
opening of a corruption investigation against her in July 2025.[4]
The city boasts important historical and artistic attractions, with a cultural
span that started with the Etruscans and then expanded in the Middle Ages and
reached its peak with the Renaissance, when artists such as Donatello, Filippo
Lippi and Botticelli left their testimonies in the city. The renowned Datini
archives are a significant collection of late medieval documents concerning
economic and trade history, produced between 1363 and 1410.[5]
_Cantucci_, a type of biscotti invented in Prato during the Middle Ages, are
still produced by local traditional bakers.
** History
[Timeline of Prato]
*** Ancient times
[date=July 2024] Archaeological findings have proved that Prato's surrounding
hills were inhabited since Paleolithic times. The plain was later colonized
by the Etruscans. In 1997, remains of a previously unknown city from that
civilization were discovered in the neighbourhood of Gonfienti near Campi
Bisenzio.[6] It was of medium size and it was already a centre for the wool
and textile industry. According to some scholars, it could be the mythical
Camars.[7] The Etruscan city was inhabited until the 5th century BC, when, for
undisclosed reasons, it decayed; control of the area later shifted to the
Romans, who had their Via Cassia pass through here, but did not build any
settlement.
*** Middle Ages
[date=July 2024] In the early Middle Ages, the Byzantine and Lombard
dominations prevailed in the region.
The history of Prato itself begins from the 10th century, when two distinct
villages, Borgo al Cornio and _Castrum Prati_ (Prato's Castle), are known.[8]
In the following century the two settlements were united under the lords of
the castle, the Alberti family, who received the imperial title of Counts of
Prato.<ref name=":1" /> In the same period the plain was drained and a
hydraulic system regulating and exploiting the waters of the Bisenzio River
was created to feed the _gualchiere_ (pre-industrial textile machines).
After a siege in 1107 by the troops of Matilde of Canossa, the Alberti
retreated to their family fortresses in the Bisenzio Valley: Prato could
therefore develop as a free commune. Within two centuries it reached 15,000
inhabitants, spurred in by the flourishing textile industry and by the
presence of the Holy Belt relic. Two new lines of walls had to be built in
the mid-12th century, and in the early 14th century.
In 1313, in order to counter the expansionism of the Republic of Florence,
Prato submitted voluntarily under the seigniory of Robert of Anjou, King of
Naples. However, on 23 February 1351 Joanna I of Naples sold the city to the
Republic of Florence in exchange for 17,500 golden florins.<ref name=":1" />
Prato's history therefore followed that of Florence in the following
centuries.
*** Modern age
In 1512, during the War of the Holy League, the city was sacked by Spanish
troops assembled by Pope Julius II and the king of Aragón, Ferdinand II, to
recover the nearby city of Florence for the Medici family.[date=July 2024] The
severity of the sack of Prato led to the surrender of the Florentine Republic,
and to the restoration of the Medici rule. Historians debate the actual
number of people killed during the sack, but contemporary chroniclers asserted
between 2000 and 6000 people were slaughtered in the streets.[date=July 2024]
In 1653, Prato obtained the status of city and became seat of a Catholic
diocese. During the 18th century, with the ascent of Lorraine at the head of
the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the city was embellished and also experienced a
significant cultural development, which was promoted by the grand dukes
themselves.[date=July 2024]
The intellectual foresight of Prato and its land in this century finds its
maximum expression in the words of Filippo Mazzei, a friend of Thomas
Jefferson, which today are reported in the second paragraph of the American
Declaration of Independence: _All men are created equal_.[9]
After the unification of Italy in the 19th century, Prato became a primary
industrial centre, especially in the textile sector (Italian historian
Emanuele Repetti described it as the "Italian Manchester"), and it population
grew up to 50,000 in 1901 and to 180,000 in 2001.[date=July 2024] The town
experienced significant internal immigration. Previously part of the province
of Florence, in 1992 Prato became the capital of the eponymous
province.[date=July 2024]
** Climate
Prato has a humid subtropical climate which has sunny hot summers and cool
damp winters. July is the driest month of the year.
** Demographics
As of 2025, Prato has a population of 198,326, of whom 49.3% were male and
50.7% were female. Minors make up 15.1% of the population, and pensioners
make up 22.3%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7%
respectively.<ref name="population" /> Between 2011 and 2021, the population
of Prato grew by 5.3%, while Italy as a whole declined 0.7%.<ref
name="timeseries" /> {{Historical
populations|1861|32710|1871|36923|1881|38985|1901|47166|1911|51707|1921|55021|1931|61498|1936|64362|1951|77631|1961|111285|1971|143232|1981|160220|1991|165707|2001|172499|2011|185456|2021|195213|source=ISTAT[10][11]|align=right|cols=1}}
*** Chinese immigration
The city of Prato has the second largest Chinese immigrant population in Italy
(after Milan with Italy's largest Chinatown). The number of legal Chinese
residents in Prato on 31 December 2008 was 9,927;[12] the number rose to
27,829 on 31 December 2021.[13][14] Local authorities estimate the overall
number of Chinese citizens living in Prato to be as high as 50,000, illegal
immigrants included, although such number may be inflated for political
reasons.[15][16] Most overseas Chinese come from the city of Wenzhou in the
province of Zhejiang,[17] some of them having moved from Chinatown in Paris.
The first Chinese people came to Prato in the early 1990s.<ref name=":0" />
The majority of Chinese work in 3,500 workshops in the garment industry and
ready-to-wear. Chinatown, known as Santo Beijing,[18] is located in the west
part of the city, spreading to Porta Pistoiese in the historical centre. The
local Chamber of Commerce registered over 3,100 Chinese businesses by
September 2008..[19] Most of them are located in an industrial park named
Macrolotto di Iolo. Raids on factories employing illegal immigrants in 2010
highlighted problems with the growth of an apparel industry in Prato based on
cheap, and sometimes illegal, labor.[20] In spite of these claims, the local
unemployment rate was around 7% in 2013, which was significantly lower than
the national average of 11%, even after 4,000 enterprises which had employed
20,000 people were closed in the previous two decades. The president of the
Industrial Association of Prato, Andrea Cavicchi, pointed out that the local
economic performance was much better than the rest of Italy due to the Chinese
textile firms.[21] The Chinese community was represented in local institutions
after 2019 elections, when two city councillors of Chinese origins were
elected.[22]
*** Dialect
The dialect from Prato is very similar to that of Florence, but it has its own
peculiarities.[date=August 2018] The pronunciation of the city name in the
dialect was traditionally [it-IT-52] but now [it-IT-52] or [it-IT-52] are more
common.
** Government
[List of mayors of Prato]
** Culture
[date=July 2024]
*** Corteggio Storico
On 8 September each year, to pay homage to the Sacra Cintola, on the day of
the birth of the Madonna, there is the _Corteggio Storico_.[23] The costume
parade takes place along the streets of the center, in which the armies of the
city, the Corpo dei Valletti Comunali and other hundreds of people from
different cities of Italy take part. The procession ends in Piazza del Duomo,
where there is the most solemn event of the day: the exposition of the relic
of the Holy Girdle.
The program of the festival is enriched by various performances that are held
throughout the day in various points of the historic center, such as, for
example, the performance of flag-wavers, shooting with bows, the medieval
market with re-enactments of ancient crafts and traditions, musical
performances, fireworks.
*** Chinese New Year
The local Chinese associations in Prato organize the New Year's celebrations
that follow the Lunar calendar. The last day of festivities have a parade
with several puppets of dragons and lions, manipulated by experienced dancers
and martial artists who perform the traditional Dragon dance.[24][25]
*** Palla Grossa
The Game of Palla Grossa is back to be played in Prato Piazza Mercatale in
September 2012, after almost thirty years of absence. Four districts compete:
the Rossi (Santa Trinita), the Gialli (Santo Stefano), the Azzurri (Santa
Maria) and the Verdi (San Marco).[26]
*** Contemporary festival
The contemporanea festival is an international theater festival that takes
place in Prato since 1999. The event takes place at the end of May and
presents important artists of the national and international contemporary
theater scene.
*** Typical cuisine
The typical Pratese cuisine, as in general that of the whole Tuscany, uses
"poor" products and ingredients, mainly from the territory. The bread, called
_bozza pratese_, is definitely the basic element of the kitchen. In Prato, as
in Florence it is customary to use bread to prepare croutons with the livers,
panzanella and pappa al pomodoro.
Piatti tipici
- Cantucci
- Bruttiboni
- Sedani ripieni alla pratese
- Mortadella di Prato
- Ribollita
- Torta mantovana
- Pesche di Prato
- Vermouth di Prato
- Zuccherini
- Bozza pratese
*** Music collections
[Music collections in Prato]
** Main sights
Prato is home to many museums and other cultural monuments, including the
Filippo Lippi frescoes in the Cathedral of Santo Stefano, recently restored.
The cathedral has an external pulpit by Donatello and Michelozzo, built and
still used for the display of the cathedral's famous relic of the Virgin Mary,
the Girdle of Thomas (_Sacra Cintola_, a cord belt), which had a great
reputation in the late Middle Ages and is often shown in Florentine art. Also
of interest is the Teatro Metastasio, the city's main venue for operas and
other theatrical productions, which was built in 1829–30.
*** Palazzi and castles in the historical center
Palazzo Pretorio : The palace was begun in the 13th century in red bricks; late-Gothic style additions were in white stone. The external staircase and clock were added in the 16th century and later.
Palazzo Datini : Built from 1383 for the merchant Francesco Datini . It was decorated by Florentine artists like Agnolo Gaddi and Niccolò Gerini . In 1409 it housed Pope Alexander V and Louis of Anjou .
Palazzo degli Alberti : (13th Century), housing a museum with works by Filippo Lippi ( _Madonna del Ceppo_ ), Giovanni Bellini ( _Crucifix with Jew Cemetery_ ) and Caravaggio ( _The Crowning with Thorns_ ).
Castello dell'Imperatore : Located in the city center, this is the northernmost castle built by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in Italy.
*** Main churches in the historical center
_Prato Cathedral_ : One of the most ancient churches in the city, already in existence in the 10th century. It was built in several successive stages in the Romanesque style . The church contains a number of notable works of art, in particular fine sculpture.
_Santa Maria delle Carceri_ : Commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici to Giuliano da Sangallo in 1484. It is on a Greek cross plan, inspired by Brunelleschi 's Pazzi Chapel . Works lasted for some twenty years. The interior is run by a bichromatic maiolica frieze by Luca della Robbia , also author of four _tondos_ depicting the four Evangelists in the cupola. The external façade is unfinished, only the western part being completed in the 19th century according to Sangallo's design.
_Sant'Agostino_ : built from 1440 over an existing edifice from 1271. It has a simple façade with a rose window and a bell tower with pyramidal top. The interior is on the basilica plan, with a nave and two aisles divided by brickwork columns having "waterleave" capitals ( [1410] ). The apse chapels date to the late 14th century. The interior is home to canvasses by Giovanni Battista Naldini , Lorenzo Lippi , l'Empoli , Giovanni Bizzelli and others, as well as 14th-century frescoes. The cloister dates to the 16th century.
_San Domenico_ : The interior altars house a crucifix of the 14th century and an Annunciation by Matteo Rosselli (1578–1650). The cloister of the adjacent convent was built in 1478–80. An adjacent museum has works of wall frescoes.
_San Francesco_ : It houses a funerary monument of Geminiano Inghirami (died 1460), and the frescoes by Niccolò Gerini in the wonderful Cappella Migliorati.
_San Fabiano_ : Already existing in 1082. It houses precious traces of a pavement mosaic dating from the 9th–11th centuries. Also notable is the 15th-century bell tower.
_Minor Basilica of Santi Vicenzo e Caterina de' Ricci_ : Adjacent to the late-Baroque monastery of _San Vicenzo_ . The church was decorated for the canonization of the Saint Catherine of Ricci , who was associated with the monastery and is buried in the church.
*** Main museums
Palazzo Pretorio : It was the old city hall located town center, standing in front of the current Palazzo Comunale. It now accommodates the Civic Museum of Prato, which was reopened in September 2013.
Prato Cathedral Museum : It was founded in 1967 in a few rooms of the Bishop's residence and in 1976 grew to include items from both the Cathedral of Saint Stephen and the diocesan territory.
Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci : Devoted to the contemporary arts of the last three decades. The complex composes the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Centre of Information and Documentation, including the visual arts, and an education department.
Prato textile museum : The museum and library is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage .
Galleria di Palazzo degli Alberti : Home to the art gallery of the local bank (former Cassa di Risparmio di Prato). Works of the collection include _The Crowning with Thorns_ , by Caravaggio ( [1604] ).
Museo della Deportazione : Dedicated to the memory of the victims of Nazi concentration and extermination camps. [27]
** Sport
- Rugby Club I Cavalieri Prato
- A.C. Prato
** Transport
*** Train
The city of Prato is crossed by two railway lines: the Viareggio-Florence
Railroad and the Bologna-Florence Railways. The first is a regional line that
connects it with Florence and western Tuscany, while the second is part of the
Milan-Naples ridge and is one of the most important Italian railway lines.
Prato is therefore served by some long-distance trains.
There are three railway stations in the city:
- _Prato Porta al Serraglio_ railway station is situated in the historical center of the town and connects to Florence in about 25 minutes by the Viareggio–Florence railway .
- Prato Centrale railway station was opened in 1862 and is the largest station in Prato. It is part of Bologna–Florence railway and Viareggio–Florence railway .
- Prato Borgonuovo Station
*** Highways
- Motorway A11 (Firenze-Mare): Prato is served by A11 motorway through two toll stations: _Prato Est_ and _Prato Ovest_ .
- Motorway A1 (Milano-Napoli): Prato is served by A1 motorway through one toll station: _Calenzano_ .
*** Buses
CONSORZIO AUTOTRASPORTI PRATESE, also known CAP AUTOLINEE, was a Società
consortile a responsabilità limitata (Scarl) that operated since 2005 the
local public transport in Prato and in the province and partly in that of
Pistoia and Florence. The sole partner is Cap Cooperativa, whose members are
also workers who cover the positions of travelling driving personnel. CAP
Autolinee was part of ONE Scarl the consortium holder of the two-year
(2018–2019) contract for the management of the TPL throughout the Region.
Since 1 November 2021, the public local transport is managed by Autolinee
Toscane.[28]
** Education
The main points of reference are the University Campus of Prato (a branch of
the Università degli Studi di Firenze)[29] and the Prato Research Foundation
which also includes the Istituto Geofisico Toscano, in addition to the
creation of a Research Center financed by local authorities and the Chamber of
Commerce.
*** Italian Universities
From the early nineties, the city is home to an important university center
with over 2000 registered students[date=July 2024], called "University Campus
of Prato", born from the collaboration between the University of Florence and
a consortium company born from the collaboration between local authorities
(first of all the Municipality of Prato) and various private subjects, the PIN
Scrl, owner of the building (formerly the prestigious Istituto T. Buzzi and
renovated for the occasion) which houses the polo. Some courses of study are
underway at the faculty of economics, letters and philosophy, engineering,
medicine and surgery and political sciences of the Florentine university.
*** Foreign Universities
- Monash University , Australia has an office in Palazzo Vai that opened in September 2001. [30]
- University of New Haven , US opened a satellite campus in the fall of 2012. [31]
- Beacon College , US began a Prato study abroad program the fall of 2017. [32]
*** High schools
- Cosimo Bellini Institutes
- Conservatory of San Niccolò
- Cicognini, State National Boarding School
- Liceo Scientifico / Linguistico Statale "Carlo Livi"
- Liceo Scientifico / Linguistico Statale "Niccolò Copernico"
- Liceo Artistico Statale " Umberto Brunelleschi "
- "F. Cicognini" Classical High School
- Liceo Socio Psycho-pedagogical and Social Sciences " Gianni Rodari "
- State Institute of Higher Education "A. Gramsci – J.M. Keynes"
- Tullio Buzzi State Technical Industrial Institute
- Paolo Dagomari State Technical Commercial Institute
- Istituto Tecnico Agrario e Professionale Alberghiero di Stato " Francesco Datini "
- State Professional Institute for Industry and Crafts
** Notable people
- Nicolò Albertini , 13th-century cardinal
- Lorenzo Bartolini , sculptor
- Sem Benelli , writer
- Roberto Benigni , actor and director
- Francesca Bertini , actress
- Gaetano Bresci , anarchist and assassin of King Umberto I
- Antonio Brunelli , composer
- Clara Calamai , actress
- Ferdinando Castagnoli , archaeologist
- Jury Chechi , gymnast, Olympic gold medalist
- Compagnetto da Prato , medieval poet
- Enrico Coveri , fashion designer and entrepreneur
- Lorenzo Dalla Porta , motorcycle racer
- Francesco Datini , 14th-century merchant
- Alessandro Diamanti , soccer player
- Emilia Goggi , opera singer
- Filippino Lippi , 15th-century painter
- Fiorenzo Magni , cyclist
- Curzio Malaparte , writer
- Filippo Mazzei , politician
- Giovanni Nesi , pianist
- Francesco Nuti , actor
- Iva Pacetti , lyric singer(soprano)
- Gianni Pedrizzetti , engineer and professor
- Biagio Pesciolini , composer
- Rachele Risaliti , Miss Italia 2016
- Paolo Rossi , soccer player
- Christian Vieri , soccer player
- Pamela Villoresi , actress
- Domenico Zipoli , composer
** International relations
*** Twin towns – sister cities
[List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy] Prato is twinned with:[33]
[colwidth=22em]
- [USA] Albemarle County , U.S., since 1977
- [ESH] Bir Lehlou , Western Sahara, since 1985
- [CHN] Changzhou , China, since 1987
- [AUT] Ebensee am Traunsee , Austria, since 1987
- [VIE] Nam Dinh , Vietnam, since 1975
- [FRA] Roubaix , France, since 1981
- [BIH] Sarajevo , Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 1997
- [GER] Wangen im Allgäu , Germany, since 1988
[div col end]
** See also
[Italy]
- Cantucci
- Filippino Lippi
- Palazzo Pretorio, Prato
** References
[Reflist]
** Bibliography
[Timeline of Prato#Bibliography]
** External links
[Prato] [Prato]
- Prato Turismo (see https://www.pratoturismo.it/en/)
- City of Prato (see https://www.cittadiprato.it/en/default.aspx)
- Prato (see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/474045/Prato) on Encyclopædia Britannica
[Province of Prato] [Cities in Italy] [Authority control]
Category:10th-century establishments in Italy Category:Cities and towns in
Tuscany Category:Populated places established in the 10th century