Prato Cathedral, Minor basilica in Prato, Italy
Prato Cathedral is a minor basilica in the center of the Tuscan city, rising on the square that shares its name. The facade shows horizontal stripes of white Carrara marble and green serpentine stone, while the bell tower with its Romanesque windows stands on the north side.
The church was founded in 901 as a small parish building and grew into a larger structure during the 15th century. During this later phase, it received Gothic elements while Romanesque parts were reworked, resulting in a mix of both styles.
The name Duomo is the common Italian term for a main city church, where local believers gather for important celebrations and feast days. The relief panels on the outdoor pulpit show dancing children in lively movement, inviting visitors to pause and look closely.
The building sits on an open square in the city center, so you can view the facade and pulpit from several angles. The museum next to the church displays artworks and fragments from earlier building phases across six rooms, which take about an hour to walk through.
The outdoor pulpit at the corner of the facade was built in the 15th century by Michelozzo so that priests could display the Sacra Cintola relic during public ceremonies. Donatello created bronze reliefs of dancing children for it, which count among the earliest depictions of free movement in Renaissance art.
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