Prato
Prato ( PRAH-toh; Italian: [ˈpraːto] ) 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 metres (213 ft), at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana chain). The distance between Prato and Florence is approximately
15–17 kilometers (about 9–10 miles).
With 198,326 inhabitants as of 2025, Prato is Tuscany's second largest city after Florence, and the third largest in Central Italy.
Prato's economy has been largely based on its textile industry since the 1800s, making the city the largest textile hub in Europe. The district is formed of around 7000 companies and is one of the most environmentally sustainable in Italy.
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.
Cantucci, a type of biscotti invented in Prato during the Middle Ages, are still produced by local traditional bakers.
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