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Prato: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Prato, Toscana. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Search for an address in Prato

The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.

For example: Via Dante 7, Milan.

Prato, textile city next to Florence

Prato is Tuscany's second city by population after Florence, only a few kilometres away. Its name is bound up with textiles: the Prato district has been spinning and weaving for centuries, and in recent decades a large garment-making sector has grown up alongside. Inside the old walls, the historic centre holds the Castello dell'Imperatore and the cathedral with its outdoor pulpit by Donatello and Michelozzo. The river Bisenzio runs through the city.

What stands out most in Prato is who lives there. Foreign nationals make up 25.3% of residents, one in four, including one of the largest Chinese communities in Europe. It is also young by Tuscan standards: 22.2% of residents are over 65 against 26.5% in the region, the estimated average age is about 45 and a half, and households average 2.40 people. In 2023 the population was 197,088, up 6.3% from 185,456 in 2011.

The province, created in 1992 when it split from Florence, has just 7 municipalities, and Prato alone accounts for 75.8% of its residents. Services reflect that size. Overture counts 131 education sites, the same number of healthcare sites, 57 officially registered pharmacies and 701 cafés and restaurants, with rates per resident close to the provincial average.

For earthquakes Prato is in seismic zone 3, like two other municipalities in the province, while four are in zone 2. Expected ground acceleration in the built-up area is about 0.140 g, a mid-range value. In a city with buildings of very different ages and types, what matters for a purchase is the construction date and structure of the individual block.

The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps for the municipality, and the report finds the land parcel from the address. On the plain crossed by the Bisenzio and other watercourses, as in the hills, landslide and flood risk is verified address by address.

Key points

  • 197,088 residents in 2023, up 6.3% since 2011.
  • Foreign nationals at 25.3%: one resident in four.
  • 75.8% of the province's population lives in the city.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected ground acceleration about 0.140 g.

Overview

Prato is the capital of the province of Prato, in Toscana. At the end of 2023 it had 197,088 residents, ranked 0 of 7 municipalities in the province. 76% of the province's residents live here.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Prato is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Only 3 of 7 municipalities in the province are in zone 3.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.140 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood risk changes from one street to the next, even within the same municipality: for this reason we do not summarise it as a single figure for the whole of Prato.

The report checks the exact address against the ISPRA national maps and tells you in plain words whether the building falls within an at-risk area. The official map is also available on IdroGEO.

House prices

We do not publish price tables by municipality. The report gives the minimum and maximum price per square metre for the address's zone, from the Revenue Agency's OMI valuations, with the reference half-year. It is a range for the zone, not the value of a specific home.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has grown by 6.3%. The estimated average age is 45 years, in line with the province. 22% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 26%). Foreign residents make up 25.3% of the population. On average, a household has 2.4 members.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Prato has 131 schools and 57 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 48 grocery shops and supermarkets, 105 healthcare facilities, 126 sports facilities and 20 parks and green areas.

This data is gathered from several providers: services may be missing or closed businesses may still appear. The report counts services within 500 metres and 1 kilometre of the address.

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

Land registry

The Revenue Agency publishes the cadastral maps for Prato: the report finds the building's parcel, that is its sheet and parcel number, starting from the address.

Data sources

ISTAT code 100005. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.