Prato (/ˈprɑːtoʊ/PRAH-toh;Italian:[ˈpraːto]ⓘ) is a city and municipality (comune) inTuscany, Italy, and is the capital of theprovince of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of 65 metres (213 ft), at the foot ofMonte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana chain). With 198,326 inhabitants as of 2025, Prato is Tuscany's second largest city afterFlorence, and the third largest inCentral Italy.[4]
Prato's economy has been largely based on its textile industry since the 1800s, making the city the largest textile hub in Europe.[5] The district is formed of around 7000 companies and is one of the most environmentally sustainable in Italy.[6][7]
The city boasts important historical and artistic attractions, with a cultural span that started with theEtruscans and then expanded in theMiddle Ages and reached its peak with theRenaissance, when artists such asDonatello,Filippo Lippi andBotticelli left their testimonies in the city. The renownedDatini archives are a significant collection of late medieval documents concerning economic and trade history, produced between 1363 and 1410.[8]
Cantucci, a type ofbiscotti invented in Prato during the Middle Ages, are still produced by local traditional bakers.
Archaeological findings have proved that Prato's surrounding hills were inhabited sincePaleolithic times. The plain was later colonized by theEtruscans. In 1997, remains of a previously unknown city from that civilization were discovered in the neighbourhood ofGonfienti nearCampi Bisenzio.[9] It was of medium size and it was already a centre for thewool andtextile industry. According to some scholars, it could be the mythicalCamars.[10] The Etruscan city was inhabited until the 5th century BC, when, for undisclosed reasons, it decayed; control of the area later shifted to theRomans, who had theirVia Cassia pass through here, but did not build any settlement.
The history of Prato itself begins from the 10th century, when two distinct villages, Borgo al Cornio andCastrum Prati (Prato's Castle), are known.[11] In the following century the two settlements were united under the lords of the castle, theAlberti family, who received theimperial title of Counts of Prato.[11] In the same period the plain was drained and a hydraulic system regulating and exploiting the waters of theBisenzio River was created to feed thegualchiere (pre-industrial textile machines).
After a siege in 1107 by the troops ofMatilde of Canossa, the Alberti retreated to their family fortresses in the Bisenzio Valley: Prato could therefore develop as afree commune. Within two centuries it reached 15,000 inhabitants, spurred in by the flourishing textile industry and by the presence of theHoly Belt relic. Two new lines of walls had to be built in the mid-12th century, and in the early 14th century.
In 1512, during theWar of the Holy League, the city was sacked by Spanish troops assembled byPope Julius II and the king of Aragón,Ferdinand II, to recover the nearby city ofFlorence for theMedici family.[12][13] The severity of the sack of Prato led to the surrender of theFlorentine 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
After theunification of Italy in the 19th century, Prato became a primary industrial centre, especially in the textile sector (Italian historianEmanuele Repetti described it as the "ItalianManchester"), and its population grew up to 50,000 in 1901 and to 180,000 in 2001.[citation needed] The town experienced significant internal immigration. Previously part of theprovince of Florence, in 1992 Prato became the capital of theeponymous province.[citation needed]
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.[3] Between 2011 and 2021, the population of Prato grew by 5.3%, while Italy as a whole declined 0.7%.[15]
The city of Prato has the second largest Chinese immigrant population in Italy (afterMilan with Italy's largestChinatown). The number of legal Chinese residents in Prato on 31 December 2008 was 9,927;[17] the number rose to 27,829 on 31 December 2021.[18][19] 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.[20][21] Most overseas Chinese come from the city ofWenzhou in the province ofZhejiang,[22] some of them having moved fromChinatown in Paris. The first Chinese people came to Prato in the early 1990s.[22] The majority of Chinese work in 3,500 workshops in the garment industry and ready-to-wear. Chinatown, known as Santo Beijing,[23] 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.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26] The Chinese community was represented in local institutions after 2019 elections, when two city councillors of Chinese origins were elected.[27]
Thedialect from Prato is very similar to that ofFlorence, but it has its own peculiarities.[specify] The pronunciation of the city name in the dialect was traditionally[ˈpraː.o] but now[ˈpraːho] or[ˈpraːθo] are more common.
On 8 September each year, to pay homage to theSacra Cintola, on the day of the birth of the Madonna, there is theCorteggio Storico.[28] 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.
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 traditionalDragon dance.[29][30]
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).[31]
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.
The typical Pratese cuisine, as in general that of the wholeTuscany, uses "poor" products and ingredients, mainly from the territory.The bread, calledbozza pratese, is definitely the basic element of the kitchen. In Prato, as inFlorence it is customary to use bread to prepare croutons with the livers, panzanella and pappa al pomodoro.
Prato is home to many museums and other cultural monuments, including theFilippo Lippi frescoes in theCathedral of Santo Stefano, recently restored. The cathedral has an external pulpit byDonatello andMichelozzo, built and still used for the display of the cathedral's famous relic of theVirgin Mary, theGirdle 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 theTeatro Metastasio, the city's main venue for operas and other theatrical productions, which was built in 1829–30.
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.
One of the most ancient churches in the city, already in existence in the 10th century. It was built in several successive stages in theRomanesque style. The church contains a number of notable works of art, in particular fine sculpture.
Commissioned byLorenzo de' Medici toGiuliano da Sangallo in 1484. It is on a Greek cross plan, inspired byBrunelleschi'sPazzi Chapel. Works lasted for some twenty years. The interior is run by a bichromaticmaiolica frieze byLuca della Robbia, also author of fourtondos depicting thefour Evangelists in the cupola. The external façade is unfinished, only the western part being completed in the 19th century according to Sangallo's design.
The interior altars house a crucifix of the 14th century and an Annunciation byMatteo Rosselli (1578–1650). The cloister of the adjacent convent was built in 1478–80. An adjacent museum has works of wall frescoes.
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.
Adjacent to the late-Baroque monastery ofSan Vicenzo. The church was decorated for the canonization of the SaintCatherine of Ricci, who was associated with the monastery and is buried in the church.
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.
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.
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.
The municipal territory is divided into five administrative districts: North, East, South, West and Centre.:[33]
Circoscrizione North:Cavagliano, Cerreto, Chiesanuova, Coiano,Figline di Prato, Galcetello, Galceti, Gli Abatoni, I Bifolchi, I Ciliani, La Torricella, Le Fornaci, Le Lastre, Le Sacca, San Martino,Santa Lucia, Villa Fiorita
Circoscrizione Sud:Cafaggio,Casale,Castelnuovo, Campostino, Fontanelle, Grignano, Il Ferro,Prato, Le Badie, Le Caserane, Le Colombaie, Le Fonti,Paperino, Ponte alle Vanne, Ponte a Tigliano, Popolino, Purgatorio,San Giorgio a Colonica, San Giusto, Sant'Andrea, Santa Maria a Colonica,Tavola,Tobbiana
Circoscrizione Est: Canneto, Carteano, Cavagliano, Filettole, Gonfienti, I Lecci, Il Cantiere, Il Palco, La Castellina, La Macine, La Pietà, La Querce,Mezzana, Pizzidimonte, Sacra Famiglia, Santa Cristina a Pimonte,Santa Gonda, Tontoli
Circoscrizione Ovest: Borgonuovo, Capezzana,Galciana, Il Calice, Il Guado, La Dogaia, Le Pantanelle,Maliseti, Mazzone,Narnali, San Paolo, Sant'Ippolito,Vergaio, Viaccia
Circoscrizione Centro: Centro Direzionale, Il Pino, Soccorso, Reggiana - Gescal
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 withFlorence 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 toFlorence in about 25 minutes by theViareggio–Florence railway.
Consorzio Autotrasporti Pratese, also knownCAP Autolinee, was aSocietà consortile a responsabilità limitata (Scarl) that operated since 2005 the local public transport in Prato and in theprovince and partly in that ofPistoia andFlorence. The sole partner is Cap Cooperativa, whose members are also workers who cover the positions of travelling driving personnel. CAP Autolinee was part ofONE Scarl the consortium holder of the two-year (2018–2019) contract for the management of theTPL throughout the Region.
Since 1 November 2021, the public local transport is managed byAutolinee Toscane.[34]
The main points of reference are the University Campus of Prato (a branch of the Università degli Studi di Firenze)[35] 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.
From the early nineties, the city is home to an important university center with over 2000 registered students[citation needed], called "University Campus of Prato", born from the collaboration between theUniversity 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 ofeconomics, letters and philosophy, engineering, medicine andsurgery andpolitical sciences of the Florentine university.
^Centauro, Giuseppe Alberto (2004).Ipotesi su Camars in Val di Marina. Dalla città etrusca sul Bisenzio all'identificazione di Clusio (in Italian). Campi Bisenzio: Nuova Toscana Editrice.ISBN9788887263275.
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