Prato

Susan
4–6 minutes

Prato was a stop on my line to Florence, the last one before the city. Coming home in the evening, the train rolls out past Prato and Pistoia, the hills turn blue, and you’re home.

Most visitors stay on the train. But Prato is the second biggest city in Tuscany, built on cloth for the best part of a thousand years, with a cathedral full of Renaissance art and a castle in the middle of town. Here’s my guide.

Prato quick facts

  • Province: Prato (the city is the provincial capital, since the province was created in 1992)
  • Population: 198,327 (ISTAT estimate, 1 January 2026), second only to Florence in Tuscany
  • Altitude: about 72 metres
  • Stations: Prato Centrale and Prato Porta al Serraglio, both on the line from Florence
  • Florence: about 20 km by road, roughly half an hour
  • Pistoia: about 19 km by road, roughly 20 minutes
  • Lucca: about 59 km by road, roughly 45 minutes

A short history of Prato

People lived on the Prato plain from Etruscan times, but the city itself grew from two neighbouring settlements, Borgo al Cornio and Castrum Prati, that merged in the 11th century. Wool made it rich. By the 1300s it was a busy cloth town, and one of its merchants, Francesco di Marco Datini, left behind one of the biggest business archives of the Middle Ages.

In the 13th century Prato answered directly to the Emperor Frederick II, who had the square castle in the middle of town built. The town was also devoted to a relic, the Sacra Cintola, the girdle of the Virgin Mary, kept in the cathedral. In 1512 Spanish troops sacked Prato, a disaster Machiavelli wrote about, and the town took a long time to recover. Before that, in the Renaissance, artists like Donatello, Filippo Lippi and Botticelli all left their mark here.

Cloth brought it back. In the 19th century Prato became an industrial textile town, and it’s still one of the most important textile districts in Europe. In 1992 it became the capital of its own province.

What to see in Prato

The Duomo. The cathedral of Santo Stefano, with an outdoor pulpit on the corner of its front, designed by Michelozzo and carved by Donatello. Inside, the main chapel has Filippo Lippi’s frescoes, one of the great sights of the Renaissance, and there are frescoes by Paolo Uccello and Agnolo Gaddi too.

The Castello dell’Imperatore. Frederick II’s castle, square with eight towers, right in the historic centre.

The Museo del Tessuto. The textile museum, one of the most important in Europe, telling the story of cloth from ancient times to now. If you only see one museum here, make it this one.

Casa Datini. The house of Francesco Datini, the medieval merchant whose letters and accounts survive by the thousand.

The walls. Prato’s medieval walls, built in local alberese stone from the 1300s, still run almost all the way round the old town, and the river Bisenzio flows past them by Porta Mercatale.

The Centro Pecci. Prato’s big contemporary art centre, for something completely different.

The villages of Prato

The comune of Prato is mostly city, but it reaches up into the hills to the north, along the Bisenzio valley, with villages like Figline and Galceti on the edge of the countryside. For the rest of the province, including the Val di Bisenzio, see the province page. If you’re staying in Florence or Pistoia, Prato is an easy half day: the Duomo, the castle and the textile museum are all within a short walk of each other.

All the villages of Prato (67)

Bagni, Barco, Boschetto, Cafaggio, Calcinara, Canneto, Capezzana, Carteano, Casa Borsi, Casale, Casalina, Castelnuovo, Cereseto, Cerghiraro, Cerreto, Coiano, Colombiera, Colonica, Cospedo, Croce, Cuncia, Faito, Figline, Figline di Prato, Filettole, Fogana, Fontanelle, Galceti, Galciana, Genicciola, Gonfienti, Iolo, La Costa, La Querce, Le Fonti, Le Lastre, Logo, Loppiedo, Maliseti, Mazzone, Metti, Mezzana, Montale, Montalini, Montedivalli – Chiesa, Narnali, Novegino, Oliveto, Pagliadiccio, Paperino, Pianello, Reggiana, Saletto, San Giorgio a Colonica, San Giusto, San Paolo, Santa Lucia, Santa Maria a Colonica, Sant’Ippolito, Serracanda, Serralta, Sescafale, Tavola, Tobbiana, Vaggi, Vergaio, Viaccia

For the neighbouring towns, see Villages of Prato province.

Food and festas

Prato is the home of cantucci, the hard almond biscuits made here since the Middle Ages. Bakers still make them, and they’re the thing to take home. Dip them in vin santo, if anyone’s watching.

Prato’s big day is 8 September, when the Sacra Cintola is shown from the outdoor pulpit of the cathedral and there’s a historic parade, with events over the days around it. More in my Tuscany’s big festivals post and sagre and festivals month by month.

Getting to Prato

Prato is on the railway between Florence and Lucca, and on the main line north to Bologna, so it’s easy without a car. Florence is a short train ride away, and Florence airport is the handier one. The old town is a ZTL, so if you drive, park outside the walls.

Where to stay

Prato is cheaper than Florence and only a short train ride away. For the bigger picture, my where to stay in Tuscany guide weighs up villages, towns and agriturismi, and where to stay near Lucca and the Svizzera Pesciatina covers my old patch.

Useful numbers

In any emergency, call 112. Prato’s hospital is the Nuovo Ospedale Santo Stefano, Via Suor Niccolina Infermiera 20/22, with a 24-hour Pronto Soccorso (A&E).

Every other number you might need, from the doctor to the train strike line, is in my useful numbers in Tuscany post.

Map

Prato is one of the towns of Prato province. See Prato on the Prato page, or browse all of Villages of Tuscany.

Susan x