The kitchen has been the most important room of any Tuscan house for centuries: a real "lab" where wives and mothers have invented the many masterpieces of the Tuscan cuisine that are renowned worldwide.

Like the cantucci or "biscotti di Prato" (biscuits of Prato): made with simple ingredients (flour, sugar, eggs and almonds), they are an excellent dessert at the end of any meal. Dip them in some Vin Santo or in some Morellino or Elba Aleatico. On the market you will also find many different varieties of cantucci made with candied fruit, dried figs or drops of dark chocolate instead of almonds.

The "Brutti ma buoni" are another sweet speciality of Prato: these almond-flavoured biscuits are grosser than the cantucci but as good as them.

If you are visiting Val di Bisenzio during carnival, you can taste the so-called "pattona", a sort of sweet polenta made with chestnut flour.

Prato cuisine is very similar to Florentine cuisine. During your stay along the river Bisenzio you can then have some canapés with chicken liver paté or some fried polenta with porcini sauce, a chianina steak or some stewed tripe, and so on.

On the contrary, the list of wines contains some novelties called Chianti Montalbano DOCG, Carmignano DOCG, Barco Reale DOC and Vin Ruspo DOC.