9 Best Sights in Prato, Tuscany

Pontormo's Visitation is in this small village a short drive from Poggio a Caiano. The Franciscan church of San Michele, dedicated in 1211, houses the work. The painting dates from 1527–30, and it may well be Pontormo's masterpiece. The luminous colors, flowing drapery, and steady gaze shared between the Virgin and St. Elizabeth are breathtaking. The church's small cloister, shaded by olive trees, is always open, and offers a quiet place to sit.

This structure near Santa Maria delle Carceri is formidable. The (Sicilian) Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250) built the seat of his authority in Tuscany in this somewhat unlikely spot. Frederick's castles were designed to echo imperial Rome, and the many columns, lions, and porticoes testify to his ambition. This is the only castle he built outside southern Italy (other examples may be found in Sicily and Puglia).

Prato's Center for Contemporary Art Luigi Pecci contains works of artists from around the world completed after 1965. The exhibitions constantly change, and often feature debut presentations.

Prato's Romanesque Duomo, reconstructed from 1211, is famous for its Pergamo del Sacro Cingolo (Chapel of the Holy Girdle), which is to the left of its entrance and which enshrines the sash of the Virgin Mary. It is said that the girdle was given to the apostle Thomas by the Virgin Mary when she miraculously appeared after her Assumption into heaven. The Duomo also contains 15th-century frescoes by Prato's most famous son, Fra Filippo Lippi. His scenes from the life of St. Stephen are on the left wall of the Cappella Maggiore (Main Chapel); those from the life of John the Baptist are on the right.

Preserved in the Museo del Tessuto is what made this city a Renaissance economic powerhouse. The collection includes clothing, fabric fragments, and the machines used to make them—all dating from the 14th to the 20th century. Check out the 15th-century fabrics with pomegranate prints, a virtuoso display of Renaissance textile wizardry. The well-designed museum (objects are clearly labeled in English) is within the medieval walls of the city in the old Cimatoria, a 19th-century factory that finished raw fabrics.

A sculpture by Donatello (circa 1386–1466) that originally adorned the Duomo's exterior pulpit is now on display in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The museum also includes such 15th-century gems as Fra Filippo Lippi's Madonna and Child, Giovanni Bellini's (circa 1432–1516) Christ on the Cross, and Caravaggio's (1571–1610) Christ Crowned with Thorns.

For a look at gracious country living Renaissance style, take a detour to the Medici villa in Poggio a Caiano. Lorenzo "il Magnifico" (1449–92) commissioned Giuliano da Sangallo (circa 1445–1516) to redo the villa, which was lavished with frescoes by important Renaissance painters such as Pontormo (1494–1556), Franciabigio (1482–1525), and Andrea del Sarto (1486–1531). You can walk around the austerely ornamented grounds while waiting for one of the villa tours, which start on the half hour. The guides do not speak; rather, they follow you around the place.

The church of Santa Maria delle Carceri was built by Giuliano Sangallo in the 1490s and is a landmark of Renaissance architecture.

In the small town of Artimino, next door to Carmignano, is the Villa Medicea La Ferdinanda di Artimino. Built by Ferdinando I de' Medici (1549–1609) in the 1590s, it was originally used as a hunting lodge. Though it's closed to the public (except for special occasions or by prior arrangement), it's simply a stunning villa to look at.