apartment rental farmhouse tuscany - Town House Suite in Prato, Italy

PRATO: THE HEART OF CENTRAL ITALY
Roberto Benigni, Christian Vieiri, Paolo Rossi, Filippino Lippi, and Lorenzo Bartolini. Are we rambling? No, because this is not a random string of names of famous Italians, but a list of some of the eminent citizens of Prato. With close to 200,000 inhabitants, Prato is Tuscany’s second largest city and the third largest in Central Italy, after Rome and Florence. Historically, Prato’s economy has depended on the textile industry, and the modern Textile Museum reflects this history. Today, Prato is also a cosmopolitan and fast growing tourist destination, located just 13 km from Florence.

Since the late 1950s, the city has seen a wave of immigrants, first from southern Italy, then other nations. Since the late 1980s in particular, Prato has been home to a significant Chinese community. Prato is also a centre of the Slow Food movement, with many specialties, including cantucci, a type of biscotti, sold by local bakers. Incidentally, for those not in the know, the Slow Food movement was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy to resist the fast food invasion and attempts to preserve the cultural cuisine and associated plants and seeds, domestic animals, and farming within a region.

So you know that when you come to Prato, you will sample all the local culinary delights that the city can offer at its various restaurants, hotels, farmhouses, and bed and breakfasts. Besides, Prato is also home to numerous museums and cultural monuments, including the Filippo Lippi frescoes in the Cathedral of Santo Stefano, which also has an external pulpit by Donatello. Yet another major attraction is the Centro per l’arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, a museum and education centre concerned with contemporary arts.

Then there is the Palazzo Pretorio, built around the 13th century in red brick. Also notable is the Palazzo Datini, built in the 14th century for the merchant Francesco Datini. The palace has decorations by famous Florentine artists and, in 1409, housed Pope Alexander V and Louis of Anjou. The Palazzo degli Alberti (12th century) is home to an art gallery with works by Filippo Lippi (Prato Madonna), Giovanni Bellini (Crucifix with Jew Cemetery) and Caravaggio (The Crowning with Thorns).

There are several other fascinating churches and palaces that you should see and which we cannot name here owing to lack of space, but do plan ahead for your visit by selecting your accommodation in Prato from our list (www.yourwaytotuscany.com/Prato.htm) of hotels, vacation farmhouses, apartments, bed & breakfasts, and residences in the city and province of Prato. We guarantee you an unforgettable trip!

TOWN HOUSE SUITES IN TUSCANY: STAY IN ONE!

Imagine living in a 14th-century home that looks stuck in time, yet offers every comfort that the modern age has invented. The Palazzo Torriani is a town house suite in Tuscany that is actually a historic home dating back to the end of the 14th century. It has always been owned and lived in by the ancestors of the present-day proprietors. The current owners have recently completed a thorough and careful restoration of the building, returning the mansion to all its former glory.

As a result of the restoration, the town house suite has three apartments furnished with antique furniture but endowed with every modern convenience, meant for guests who are keen on spending their holidays in an old world atmosphere, in the tranquillity of a small, charming village in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines. And for the lovers of motor sports, the Imola racetrack, home of the San Marino Formula 1 Grand Prix, is close at hand. Can you think of a greater contrast?

This is just one example of the Tuscany town houses that await guests who find these beautiful accommodations through our site. Our comprehensive and all-encompassing list of Tuscany town house suites would, we are confident, put all other choices in the shade, so why don’t you check them out? We put you in touch with the owners of all our properties, of which the Palazzo Torriani is only an example.

Our properties boast such amenities as air-conditioning, swimming pools, barbecues, and truly spectacular natural surroundings. The "Azienda Agrituristica" Lucignanello Bandini is an example. Situated on the southernmost tip of Tuscany, in the tiny village of Lucignano d’Asso, it is a half-hour drive from Siena. The hamlet consists of two stony roads, two churches, a castle, a quaint little store and a number of smaller houses that look out across rolling fields and patches of woodland towards the reassuring outline of Mount Amiata, a visual point of reference for many miles around. The muted pinks, beiges and pale ochers of Lucignano’s ancient walls perfectly harmonize with the palette of the Crete Senesi, the Sienese Claylands whose rich, pliant soil forms the body of those warm-hued terracotta pots and urns that are a feature of the area.

As you can see, therefore, wherever you go in Tuscany, you will come across one of our town house suites. So without delay, see them for yourself here.

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