Prato is a small but thriving Tuscan city, with a beautiful historic centre and a vibrant cultural and economic life. Famous for its textile industry, the city has a population of some 180,000 inhabitants, a growing percentage of whom are immigrants from mainland China, the Indian sub-continent, north and west Africa and elsewhere. The communal, provincial and regional governments, progressive in outlook, are active in European community affairs, and have welcomed the presence of an Australian academic institution in the heart of their city.
Prato has a rich historical and artistic patrimony, including a mid 13th century castle built by the Hohenstaufen Emperors, almost perfectly preserved medieval walls which enclose the ancient city centre, a Romanesque cum Gothic cathedral dedicated to San Stefano with an external pulpit by Donatello and Michelozzo, the church of S.Maria delle Carceri by Giuliano San Gallo, and the well preserved Palazzo Datini, the fifteenth century home of the famous 'Merchant of Prato', Francesco Datini
Getting to Prato please visit this webpage for practical information on how to get to Prato.
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