Prato is a city and comune in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies 17 kilometres north-west of Florence, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation 768 metres, the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 195,000 inhabitants, Prato is Tuscany's second largest city and the third largest in Central Italy.
Historically, Prato's economy has been based on the textile industry. The renowned Datini archives are a significant collection of late medieval documents concerning economic and trade history, produced between 1363 and 1410.
The city boasts important historical and artistic attractions, with a cultural span that started with the Etruscans and then expanded in the Middle Ages and reached its peak with the Renaissance, when artists such as Donatello, Filippo Lippi and Botticelli left their testimonies in the city.
The famous cantucci, a type of biscotti invented in Prato during the Middle Ages, are still produced by local traditional bakers.