Where : Prato historic center
When : All year round
What : History, culture and gastronomy
Why is Prato so famous all over the world? Surely for being an industrial city, which for many years has become one of the “Textile Capitals”, but also because over the centuries it has played an important role from a cultural and gastronomic point of view. Prato can be easily reached from Florence by train, by bus or by car and this makes a visit easy to use. The appearance of the medieval city of the historic center blends with the modern architecture of the buildings built in recent times. The spaceship-shaped silhouette of the Luigi Pecci Center for Modern Art stands out in stark contrast to the austere one of the Emperor’s Castle, built in Swabian architecture after 1240. The visitor can only be fascinated by these contrasts of styles.
During the visit of the historic center of the city and the Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, you can make sensational discoveries: not many know that going up through a secret passage that opens behind the facade
you can admire the original facade of the Cathedral in Romanesque style , the external pulpit by Donatello and Michelozzo and the ancient clock. Not far from the Palazzo Pretorio for gourmands, a stop at the award-winning Biscottificio Mattei will be mandatory, from where the patrons come out with the unmistakable blue packages, tied with a red thread, filled with the famous “Cantucci di Prato” and other delicacies. Moreover, not everyone knows that a special Mortadella is produced in Prato, a tasty cured meat born from pork reused from the preparation of other sausages: a pleasant local dish that disappeared after the war and subsequently put back into production by a well-known delicatessen in Prato: it can be enjoyed accompanying it with figs and the “draft Pratese”, the typical local bread.
Do not miss the opportunity to visit Prato: a city rich in culture, contrasts and pleasant surprises!
