Prato

Prato  is a city of about 195,000 inhabitants in Tuscany, immediately to the west of Florence, and also the capital of the Province of Prato. The city is famous in Italy and beyond for textile production and for the biscotto di Prato (biscuit with almonds better known as "cantuccio").

In the last few decades, Prato has enjoyed a significant population boom and increased immigration. It is now the second largest city in Tuscany, third largest in central Italy (after Rome and Florence) and the eighteenth largest in Italy.



Understand
Prato is the low-profile cousin of Florence and Pisa in the Central Italy region of Tuscany. Not as mobbed with tourists and without the typical tourist ripoffs it nonetheless has a history and artistic heritage dating back to the Etruscan civilisation and everything since, plus great food. It's a great place to stay and save a few euros while doing day trips to Pisa or Florence.

As regards the area, Prato is a city that is part of the north-east and covers about 100 km². Located at the foot of the mountain of Retaia, it is bisected by the Bisenzio River, a tributary of the Arno.



By plane
The nearest airports are Galileo Galilei di Pisa close to Pisa and Amerigo Vespucci di Firenze close to Florence.

From the airport of Pisa to Prato
The train station at Pisa airport is directly connected with the Santa Maria Novella station in Florence and Pisa Central Station (line Pisa - Lucca - Pistoia - Florence). The airport is very close to the Pisa Nord motorway. From the Pisa Nord motorway take the A11 motorway and continue towards Florence. West Lawn toll is about 65 km from Pisa, while the exit Prato Est is about 73 km away.

From the airport of Florence to Prato
The Amerigo Vespucci Airport is located in Peretola and is as close to the province of Prato. The airport is not directly connected to the railway line. You can reach the station of Firenze Santa Maria Novella and Florence Rifredi using the bus. Arriving by car from Florence in Prato is very simple: the airport is the A11 motorway exit "Firenze Nord", which is only 5 km from the exit Prato Est and 13 km from the exit West Prato. There is a bus service between the airport and Prato (Prato Central Station) operated by Cap Autolinee Prato.

By car
Driving in Italy is not for the faint-of-heart and Prato is no exception especially in the old center of the city where the city walls, narrow streets, and ubiquitous pedestrian zones make navigating and parking particularly difficult.

By train
There are three train stations in Prato. The main station is a large railway station and located on the Florence-Bologna and Florence-Prato-Pistoia-Lucca-Viareggio lines.

The station is a railway station railway Maria Antonia. Least, is the second station in the city of Prato. Among the three stations of the city is the closest to the old town, being only five minutes walk from Piazza del Duomo.

The station of is a small station on the outskirts of the city of Prato. It is located on the Florence-Prato-Pistoia-Lucca-Viareggio, has two tracks and two small loops shelters. On the first track passing convoys for Pistoia, Lucca and Viareggio. While the second track the convoys to Prato Central and Firenze Santa Maria Novella. Only regional trains stop.

By bus
Cap Autolinee Prato operate five bus rapid transit (BRT) lines:
 * LAM blu (blue): Repubblica - Centro Città - Maliseti
 * LAM arancio (orange): Stazione Centrale - Piazza Carceri - Piazza San Domenico - Galciana
 * LAM rossa (red): Galceti - S. Lucia - Centro Città - Paperino - S. Giorgio - S. Giusto
 * LAM-MT viola (purple): Prato - Montemurlo - Montale - Oste - Agliana
 * LAM-MT azzurra (light blue): Prato - autostrada A11 - Firenze. This line goes to Firenze via the airport.
 * LAM-MT azzurra (light blue): Prato - Poggio a Caiano - Comeana - Seano - Carmignano

See route map for details and timetables. All of the above lines have a stop near the main train station Stazione Centrale and pass through the city centre/historic centre (centro città or centro storico).

By foot
The old centre can easily be discovered by foot.

By taxi
Taxis can be typically found at Piazza Duomo, Piazza Stazione and Via Cavour. You can also call a taxi with this number:.

Churches


In the territory of Prato, probably since the eighth century, there was a reorganization of the Church with the division into districts that were owned by new churches, the churches (from plebs, the people, namely the community of the baptized), with the baptismal font. The churches listed below are those that were already in medieval churches and are included in the diocese of Prato:


 * San Giusto in Piazzanese
 * San Lorenzo a Usella
 * San Michele a Montecuccoli
 * San Pietro a Figline
 * San Pietro a Iolo
 * San Vito e San Modesto a Sofignano
 * Santa Maria a Colonica
 * Santa Maria a Filettole
 * Sant'Ippolito e San Cassiano
 * Sant'Ippolito in Piazzanese

Prato was long known as "City of the Virgin" for the strong Marian devotion that began with the veneration of the Sacred Belt, then grew with the construction of shrines dedicated to Our Lady (three parishes are today). These are is a newer one dedicated to St. Anthony Mary Pucci.

Buy

 * There is a large Coop supermarket near Piazza San Marco between the historic city centre and the main train station.
 * There is a large Coop supermarket near Piazza San Marco between the historic city centre and the main train station.

Eat
Prato is the wellspring of biscotti di Prato, also called cantuccini, so why not indulge while you are there? They are commonly accompanied by vin santo, a Tuscan dessert wine.



Go next

 * Florence, right next door, is the obvious place for day trips
 * The hill town of Fiesole is another neighbour of Florence, with its own Etruscan-to-now history and charm.
 * Lucca &mdash; Puccini's birthplace; beautiful old town surrounded by ancient walls
 * Pisa &mdash; for the world famous Leaning Tower and the rest of the Campo dei Miracoli
 * Siena, a Medieval city with a unique character, history and great artistic heritage