Prato

Prato is a Tuscan city close to Florence, with a much lower tourist profile despite substantial history and artistic heritage. It is bisected by the Bisenzio River, a tributary of the Arno. Prato has been a textile centre since the Middle Ages — fulling mills powered by the Bisenzio were established here as early as the 12th century — and by the late 19th and 20th centuries it had grown into the largest textile manufacturing district in Europe, an identity the city still trades on through its Museo del Tessuto (textile museum) and ongoing efforts to present its mills and industrial heritage to visitors.