Prato is located in the heart of Tuscany, nearby Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Siena, and its province is comprised of seven Communes: Cantagallo, Carmignano, Montemurlo, Poggio a Caiano, Prato, Vaiano and Vernio.
The territory includes hills, mountains and the plains crossed by the two main rivers: the Bisenzio and the Ombrone. Prato stands at the base of Retaia mountain, the last peak of the Calvana chain, and extends over the hill between the two rivers, on a terrain made of fluvial sediments which also gave birth to Florence and Pistoia.
The province territory, while not particularly wide, is extremely variegated: from the chief town plain to the mountain settlements of the Bisenzio Valley (Vaiano, Vernio, Cantagallo); from the mainly plain Montemurlo to the Medicean Poggio a Caiano and Carmignano, located in the hilly Montalbano area.
The area is crossed by many rivers, a peculiar characteristic which has proved, throughout history, an essential factor for the agricultural and manufacturing development of the city. The complex hydrographic system has also determined the creation of natural concretions of rare beauty, such as gorges, waterfalls, caves and cirques.
The areas surrounding the city are reserved to cultivation, and, going further away from the city centre, to the wide pre-Apennines woods. The southern part of the province of Prato includes the sweet elevations of the Montalbano, described by splendid hills cultivated with olive groves and vineyards. Also, waiting for you to be discovered, are routes on the Monteferrato hills, mountain itineraries in the Alta Valle del Bisenzio and walks through the thick vegetation of Calvana.
The area of Prato has an extremely high population density: a fine grid road plan and the huge quantities of water running through the territory have fostered, since ancient times, many urban settlements. Today, Prato is the second urban centre of Tuscany for population density, and the third of central Italy.
