Prato Holidays @ Prato @ Town of industries and textile
Prato
As the many archeological findings in the area witness, the territory of
Prato has been inhabited as far back as Etruscan times.
However, the first documents about the town of
Prato date back to the 9th century AD, when the Pieve di Santo Stefano, today`s Cathedral, was built on an pre-existing church in the village of Borgo al Cornio. In the 11th century, Borgo al Cornio joined another village that surrounded the Alberti castle, thus forming
Castrum Prati. The town rapidly developped, thanks to trade in woollen cloths, which were produced in workshops on the banks of the river Bisenzio.
In the 12th century,
Prato became a free commune and fortified its defensive bulwarks. Then it set itself up as a republic and extended its borders. The building of a port on the river Ombrone allowed
Prato to deliver its products directly to the Mediterranean ports.
Like most Tuscan cities, in the 13th century
Prato was the theater of clashes between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The latter governed the town from 1239 to 1250. In this period
Prato became the imperial vicariate seat of
Tuscany Under Frederick of Antioch, the Fortezza Sveva was built on the remains of the Albertini castle. When Frederick II died in 1250, the Guelphs gained momentum and
Prato became the victim of new internal strife. Despite the difficult political situation,
Prato continued to thrive.
Thanks to Francesco Datini (1335?-1410), merchant and baker,
Prato became an important terminal of a wide commercial network: in fact, Prato`s craftsmen produced quality textiles which were then exported to European and Mediterranean countries. In 1351,
Prato definitely became a satellite of
Florence
At present,
Prato the most recent of the Tuscan provinces, is one of the most important industrial centers of Italy.
Apart from the above-mentioned Francesco Datini, many other important names were born in
Prato including the painters Filippino Lippi (1457-1504) and Tommaso di Piero (1464-1529) and the writer Curzio Malaparte (1898-1957).
