Castello dell'Imperatore

The Castello dell'Imperatore is one of the few surviving Hohenstaufen imperial fortresses north of Sicily, and the only one on the Italian mainland beyond the Alps. Built around 1240 for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, it rises on the foundations of an earlier fortification, two towers of which are still incorporated into the structure. Its square plan, angular corner towers, and continuous battlements follow the Norman-Swabian castle model Frederick brought from his Sicilian kingdom — making it an architectural outlier in the Tuscan cityscape of Prato. Designated a national monument, the castle is open to visitors who can walk the battlements and take in views over Prato's medieval roofline.