The province of Prato () is one of the 80 ordinary provinces in Italy. Situated in the region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, its capital and largest city is

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

. It was carved out as a separate province from the

province of Florence The province of Florence () was a Provinces of Italy, province in the northeast of Tuscany region of Italy. The city or ''comune'' of Florence was both the capital of the province of Florence, and of the Region of Tuscany. It had an area of and ...

in 1992. Spread over an area of , it is the smallest province by land area in Tuscany. It is bordered by Pistoia province, and the metropolitan cities of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. The province is home to about 0.26 million people. There are seven

comuni A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

(municipalities) in the province.

History

The region is known for its textile industries, which date back to the 12th century CE. The region experienced an economic decline after the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, before the textile industry reinvigorated in the late 18th century. The province was carved out as a separate province from the

in 1992.

Geography

The province is situated in the

region of

Central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

. It is bordered by Pistoia province, and the metropolitan cities of

and

. Spread over an area of , it is the smallest province by land area in Tuscany. Its capital and largest city is

. The Bisenzio River, a tributary of the

Arno River The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a ...

flows through the province. The region is located at the foothills of the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

. The geology of the region is largely made up of Tuscan

nappe In geology, a nappe or thrust sheet is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than or above a thrust fault from its original position. Nappes form in compressional tectonic settings like continental collision zones or on the ...

, made up stones such as

alberese Alberese () is a rural town in southern Tuscany, a '' frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Grosseto. It is situated 20 km south-east of the capital, in the heart of the Maremma Regional Park. This area includes the surrounding rural territorie ...

, and

pietra serena ''Pietra serena'' is a blue-gray sandstone used extensively in Italian Renaissance, Renaissance Florence for architectural details. It is also known as Macigno stone. The material obtained at Fiesole is considered the best and is also quarried a ...

Administration

There are seven ''comuni'' (municipalities) in the province. The provincial government is headed by a president.

Demographics

Notable residents

Fiorenzo Magni Fiorenzo Magni (; 7 December 1920 – 19 October 2012) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Magni was born to Giuseppe Magni and Giulia Caciolli, and had an elder sister Fiorenza.#Bulbarelli, Bulbarelli, pp. 14–15 ...

, cyclist *

Jury Chechi Jury Dimitri Chechi (; born 11 October 1969) is a retired Italian gymnast. Biography Chechi was named after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He won the Olympics title in the rings at Atlanta 1996 and was third at Athens 2004. Chechi's bronze was the ...

, Olympic gymnast *

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...

, footballer *

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni ( , ; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing, and starring in the Holocaust comedy drama film ''Life Is Beautifu ...

, actor and comedian

References

External links

Official website

Events in Prato

Statistical dataWelcome to Prato, Tuscany (Italy) Food, art, history of the province of Prato
{{DEFAULTSORT:Province Of Prato P

1992 establishments in Italy States and territories established in 1992