The town of Prato, which experienced its maximum development in the Middle Ages, keeps its XIV-century walls that contain some of the most important monuments to be visited such as the characteristic tower-houses, which were built by the city's most powerful families to represent their power, the Palazzo Pretorio and the Cathedral of Santo Stefano.

The territory near Prato is planted with vines and olives, above all in the area of Carmignano that is a centre famous for the production of the AOC "Carmignano Rosso" and of the "Vin Santo". The historical-culture attractions, instead, are in the surrounding villages, where the Necropolis and the Etruscan finds/remains, as well as churches an monuments dating to the Roman times, can be visited.
Among the most interesting towns from a historical and artistic point of view, there are Vernio, with its ancient Abbey, Motemurlo, with the Church of Santo Stefano still having its original Romanesque façade, and Poggio a Caiano with its Villa Ambra.
This territory appears as a marriage of art, history and environmental heritage/patrimony represented by the Natural reserve of Cantagallo. Here, there is a huge centuries-old beech called "Faggio di Lungomano" that catches a lost of interest. Among the products of local gastronomy, there are the famous "Figs of Carmignano", the chestnut flour typical of the city of Prato and the production of exquisite oil. The textile sector, instead, plays a major role in the production of pure cachemire and woollen clothes, to the extent that the area of Prato is the most renowned city on a national level for these manufactures that originated in the Middle Ages and that are internationally famous today.

Prato

The city of Prato is located on a plain of alluvial origin, at the north west of Florence. The area, already inhabited during the Palaeolithic era, saw some settlements of Liguria and Etruscans, before it sustained a more organised form established by the Romans.

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Cantagallo

The town of Cantagallo is in the province of Prato at 423 m. of altitude and it has a population of about 3000 inhabitants. The XIII-century church of San Biagio and the "Acquerino Santagallo" Natural Reserve can be admired in the town. Not far from here, there is the suggestive Fortress of Cerbaia.

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