Prato
PRATO is Italy's main textile city, a role it has held since the early Middle Ages.. This fact alone is probably not very encouraging., but the long-term abundance of the city and florentine influences left behind a beautiful legacy in the form of buildings and art., including the most fascinating cycle of frescoes by Filipp Lippi.
Centro Storico remains surrounded by a hexagonal wall, making orientation in the field child's play. Buses from Florence arrive directly in Piazza del Duomo. From the train station, you can cross the Ponte della Vittoria bridge in front of the square, and viale Vittorio Veneto leads to the walls. Going straight ahead (next to a sculpture by Henry Moore), arrives at Castello dlmperatore in Norman style (pn., wt. and Thu-Sat. 9.00-12.00 i 16.00-19.00), erected in the thirteenth century. by Emperor Frederick II. The castle has been largely rebuilt (in the summer, concerts are held in the courtyard), but you can walk around the embankments, from which there are views of the old town and industrial suburbs. In the immediate vicinity of the castle is a well-known Renaissance monument in Prato, church of Santa Maria delle Carceri built by Giuliano Sangallo (closed. 12.00-16.30). You can see here the strong influence of Brunelleschi's Strozzi Chapel, and the decoration makes a nod to the Romanesque style (and Prato Cathedral) stripes of green and white marble. The interior is given lightness by andrea della Robbia's frieze. Behind the church, on via Cairoli, the AAST office has city plans and provides information on numerous summer cultural events.
Piazza del Duomo, three or four blocks further toward downtown, is a spectacular background for the Pisan-Romanesque façade of the Duomo (closed. 12.00-16.00), Andrea della Robbia boasting terracotta (above the portal) and an outer pulpit — on the corner — designed by Donatello and Michelozza. In the interior there are three important frescoes. In the chapel just to the left of the entrance is a painting by j Agnola Gaddi Legend of St.. loincloths (1392-95); the loincloth was given by the Virgin Mary to Thomas (who doubted her Assumption this time), and then it was brought to Prato from the Holy Land in the twelfth century. Filippo Lippi's frescoes are behind the main altar. They were painted in years 1452-66 and show the martyrdom of the Saint. John the Baptist and Śvv. Stefan (coins needed for lighting). While working on the cycle, the monk Fillipo Lippi was tried for fraud., then he was abducted, then he had a child (Filippina Lippi) with the nun Lucrezia— who reportedly posed for the dancing figure of Salome. These wonderful paintings are characterized by crazy sensuality, perfectly contrary to the intended topic. In the chapel to the right of the main altar there are scenes from the Lives of the Virgin Mary and iw. Stefan, allegedly started by Paolo Uccella, although completed in the Mannerist style.
Original Donatello sculptures from the outer pulpit can be seen at the Museo dellOpera del Duomo (pn. and Wed-Sat. 9 00-12.30 i 15.00-18.30, nd. 9.30-12.30; ! 1000 L), located in the Bishop's Palace at the cathedral. The main attraction of the museum, next to carved putti, is the reliquary of the holy loincloth of Maso di Bartolomea.
A little further south is Palazzo Pretorio, where in Galleria Comunale (pn.-sb. 9.00-13.00 i 15.00-19.00; 1000 L) there are collections of Florentine Renaissance art, including the works of both Lippi. But the climate of Prato and its former wealth is easier to get to know by walking via Ricasoli behind Palazzo Pretorio and turning left into Piazza San and Francesca in via Rinaldesca.
In the middle of the length of this street is Palazzo Datini, Fourteenth-century house of the merchant and banker Francesco di Marco Datini, whose life was perfectly recreated in the classic work of the Merchant of Prato by Iris Origo. This late Gothic building was completely covered with frescoes from the inside and outside; it is impossible to go inside, but from the street you can at least look and see some details of the equipment.
Practical details
Prato is less than half an hour away by train or bus from Florence, therefore, it can be an alternative accommodation base, if you don't find anything in Florence.
In all one-star hotels, two costs 38 000 L: the best of them is Centrale, via Magnolfi 15, just outside Piazza Duomo (0574/23182); the others are La Toscana, Piazza Ciardi 3 (0574/28096) and Roma, via Carradori 1 (0574/31777). If you can afford 50000 L for two, go to the two-star Stella dItalia in Piazza Duomo (0574/27910) or II Giglio in Piazza San Marco (0574/37049).
There are many restaurants in the city — Trattoria Lapo is a good place with local cuisine in Piazza Mercatale, a naprzeciw Palazzo Datini przy via Mazzi jest tani snack-bar. These, who stay here, invites ambitious artistic cinema Terminale on via Frascati 36. Worth remembering, that in addition to connections to Florence, Prato has its own means of communication. A useful local connection is bus number 1 to Poggio e Caiano (see "Medici Villas").