The Palazzo Pretorio is a striking medieval building on the main piazza, with its half-striped Gothic facade and external staircase. The museum inside contains one of the finest collections of medieval and Renaissance art in Tuscany, assembled almost entirely from works that were made for Prato and have stayed there. The collection includes a Donatello relief of the Virgin and Child, Giovanni Pisano's extraordinary carved pulpit (originally in the cathedral), and a large body of work by Filippo Lippi.
The Lippi rooms are the highlight. He was a Carmelite friar who lived and worked in Prato for many years, and the museum holds paintings from throughout his career — from early devotional panels through to the mature style of the cathedral frescoes. The collection is well displayed and rarely crowded, which makes it a particularly rewarding alternative to the overwhelmed museums of Florence.