Prato, Palazzo Pretorio museum unveils new archaeological core

The Museo di Palazzo Pretorio in Prato continues the project of expanding the museum itinerary and inaugurates on the ground floor the new nucleus Prato prima di Prato, which displays a number of archaeological finds, from prehistory to late antiquity, from the territory and the nearby area of Gonfienti, site of an Etruscan settlement from the 6th century BC. The tour itinerary aims to illustrate some peculiar and recurring features of the history of settlement, closely related to the natural and physical characteristics of the area. Numerous lithic tools from Galceti are evidence of the earliest peopling in the Paleolithic period. A large millstone with its grindstone documents the establishment of a productive economy in the Neolithic period.

The establishment of a large settlement in the Bronze Age at Gonfienti reflects important population growth and significant social transformations. The artefacts found attest to activities related to food consumption and preservation: cups, bowls often decorated with special sockets or handles, drawing cups, ollae and large food containers. Spinning and weaving activities are attested by spindles and loom weights. In bone are numerous awls and arrowheads, in sandstone millstones and grindstones for flour production; in river pebbles, axes and hatchets. From the domestic contexts of the Etruscan settlement of Gonfienti brought to light come ceramic tableware, pantry and kitchen ware, bucchero, impasto, purified and painted pottery and imported iron tools.The Roman presence in the territory of Prato is linked to the road system and the agricultural exploitation of the land. From the building complex in the Gonfienti locality and from the productive structure identified in Via Bresci, near the Cassia-Clodia consular road, come fragments of African and Italic sealed pottery, oil lamps, bone ridge needles and a hoard of coins traceable to the entire Roman period, from the late Republican to the late Imperial age. Complementing the visit to the new exhibit is a documentary on the historical development of the Prato area, from the Paleolithic to the founding of the first nucleus of the present-day city of Prato, which, in an inclusive vein, is also narrated in Italian Sign Language (LIS) and International Sign Language (IS), and is subtitled.

The area of today’s Prato has in fact been a favorable environment for human settlement since the Paleolithic period. It was inhabited by Neanderthal man some 50,000 years ago, as evidenced by the discovery of tools made of jasper, a rock found in the particular geological “island” that is Monteferrato. In the 6th century B.C., the Etruscan center of Gonfienti was also founded in the area. The video is the result of the collaboration of the City of Prato - Museum of Palazzo Pretorio with the Ministry of Culture - Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the metropolitan city of Florence and the provinces of Pistoia and Prato and was been curated by the archaeological officers of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the metropolitan city of Florence and for the Provinces of Pistoia and Prato, Massimo Tarantini, head of archaeological protection for the province of Prato, and by Arianna Vernillo, responsible for the archaeological site of Gonfienti. Realized by Space Spa.

“In a museum that tells so much about the City through important artistic evidence, as the Praetorium is, we now bring to attention the oldest phase of its history. In this way, we hope to offer visitors an in-depth knowledge of Prato that will surely help them understand the genesis of the many Works we welcome here,” says Rita Iacopino, director of the Praetorian Palace Museum.

Prato, Palazzo Pretorio museum unveils new archaeological core

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