Prato (Tuscany)

Prato
Country	Italy
region	Tuscany
province	Prato (PO)
Coordinates	43 ° 53 ' N , 11 ° 6' E Coordinates: 43 ° 52 '48 " N , 11 ° 5' 54" E
height	65 m slm
surface	97 km²
Residents	194,913 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	2,009 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	59100
prefix	0574
ISTAT number	100005
Popular name	Pratesi
Patron saint	Santo Stefano (December 26th)
Website	Prato

Prato is a city in the Italian region of Tuscany . It has 194,913 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) and is the capital of the province of Prato .

Location and dates

Prato is located 20 km northwest of Florence on the Bisenzio River . The Ombrone Pistoiese River also flows through the western municipality .

The neighboring municipalities are Agliana ( PT ), Calenzano ( FI ), Campi Bisenzio (FI), Carmignano , Montemurlo , Poggio a Caiano , Quarrata ( PT ) and Vaiano .

The districts (Frazioni) form five administrative units (Circoscrizioni):

Circoscrizione Nord (North): Cerreto, Chiesanuova, Coiano, Figline di Prato, Galcetello, Galceti, Gli Abatoni, I Ciliani, Le Fornaci, Le Lastre, Le Sacca, San Martino, Santa Lucia, Villa Fiorita
Circoscrizione Sud (South): Cafaggio, Casale, Castelnuovo, Campostino, Fontanelle, Grignano, Il Ferro, Iolo, Le Badie, Le Caserane, Le Colombaie, Le Fonti, Paperino, Ponte alle Vanne, Popolino, Purgatorio, San Giorgio a Colonica, San Giusto, Santa Maria a Colonica, Sant'Andrea, Tavola, Tobbiana
Circoscrizione Est (East): Canneto, Carteano, Cavagliano, Filettole, Gonfienti, Il Cantiere, I Lecci, Il Palco, La Castellina, La Macine, La Pietà, La Querce, Mezzana, Pizzidimonte, Ponzano, Sacra Famiglia, Santa Cristina a Pimonte , Santa Gonda
Circoscrizione Ovest (West): Borgonuovo, Capezzana, Galciana, Il Calice, Il Guado, La Dogaia, Le Pantanelle, Maliseti, Mazzone, Narnali, San Paolo, Sant'Ippolito, Vergaio, Viaccia
Circoscrizione Centro (center): Il Pino, Il Soccorso, Reggiana

history

Frederick II Castle

Prato Cathedral

Casa del Fascio

Prato was probably already settled by the Etruscans . However, it was first mentioned in a document in the 10th century and developed into an important wool emporium. The most famous long-distance trader and wool producer of the late Middle Ages is Francesco Datini , who in 1410 left behind the largest merchants' archive of the Middle Ages .

The “rag center of Europe”, an important immigration area for Italians from the south, grew into a flourishing industrial city with a focus on fabric production since the mid-19th century . The historic center remained in its medieval walls in the form of an irregular hexagon preserved and shows how rich the city was already at that time: palaces and churches and the unique in shape for northern and central Italy Imperial stronghold of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The castle was about built from 1240 as well as the imperial castle Castel del Monte in Apulia in south-east Italy.

Almost the entire historical center has been a pedestrian zone for many years. It also turns Prato into a shopping city, especially for fashionable textiles .

Since the late 1950s, the city has seen significant immigration , first from southern Italy, then from other countries. Noteworthy is a large Chinese community that has lived in Prato since the late 1980s. According to the magazine Die Zeit from August 2014, of the 190,000 inhabitants, 34,000 are immigrants and almost half of them are Chinese, according to other information 50,000 Chinese

Attractions

Santa Maria delle Carceri

Palazzo Pretorio

Ponte Mercatale bridge over the Bisenzio river

Many buildings, especially those built in the Middle Ages, are distinguished by the use of characteristic local building materials. Mainly two different colored types of marble were used, which were also used in a similar form in Florentine buildings. These are the white Alberese and the green Serpentino from Monteferrato.

Churches

The cathedral of Prato , dedicated to Saint Stephen , is the cathedral of the Prato diocese and has been a minor basilica since 1996 . Inside there is the fresco cycle Scenes from the life of hll. Stephen and John the Baptist 1452–1457 by Filippo Lippi .
The church of Santa Maria delle Carceri is also a minor basilica (since 1939)
Santa Maria del Giglio
Santa Maria della Pietà
Santa Maria del Soccorso
Santa Cristina a Pimonte
Sant'Agostino
San Domenico
San Francesco
San Fabiano
San Niccolò
Spirito Santo
Santi Caterina de 'Ricci e Vincenzo Ferrer has been a minor basilica since 1947

Palazzi and villas

Palazzo Pretorio
Palazzo Comunale
Palazzo Datini
Collegio Cicognini
Palazzo Vai
Palazzo Banci Buonamici
Palazzo degli Alberti
Villa del Palco

More Attractions

economy

Textile industry

Many Italian fabric factories have become insolvent in the face of global competition and are now renting out their factory buildings to one of the roughly 3,700 Chinese companies that have a reputation for producing quickly. Many of the Chinese workers live on false ceilings that have been drawn into the factory halls. The workers are paid according to the number of pieces and earn up to 4,000 euros a month if they work up to 18 hours a day. On December 1, 2013, seven Chinese died when "Teresa Moda", one of the many textile factories in the Macrolotto industrial area in the south of Prato, burned down and made the headlines.

Chinatown

50,000 of the 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese, not counting tens of thousands of illegal Chinese who made Prato the third largest city in central Italy. 5000 Chinese companies are registered. When registering a business, the residence of the owner is not checked. Enrico Rossi, President of the Tuscany Region, wants to end slavery and says that "nowhere in central and northern Italy and perhaps nowhere in Europe is there no more illegal work". A Chinatown has formed in the city . Up to 1.5 million euros are transferred to China every day via Money Transfer .