Stage Florence - Prato

The first stage of the Cammino di San Jacopo covers the 27 kilometres between Florence and Prato with barely 190 metres of ascent. It is a transition between two heavily built-up cities that nonetheless manages to dodge the chaos of the suburbs by seeking out minor roads, field tracks and the lower slopes of the hills that close off the plain to the north. The many tabernacles scattered along the way prove that these roads have been walked for centuries.

The exit from Florence heads north towards the Careggi district, site of the Medici villa that Cosimo the Elder turned into the seat of the Neoplatonic Academy. From here comes the most panoramic stretch of the day: the path climbs above the city and traverses the hillside to Settimello, in the municipality of Sesto Fiorentino, passing the church of San Jacopo a Querceto, the route's first Jacobean dedication. Walkers who would rather avoid the tarmac of the built-up area can take the green Complementario di Sommaia variant, which climbs to trails with views over the plains of Florence and Prato.

The route then reaches Calenzano, where the parish church and the medieval castle crowning the old town are worth a pause. Beyond the village the way enters the fine farmland of Travalle, a breath of open country among olive groves and vines before the final third of the day.

The approach to Prato stays high along the hillside, offering a broad view of the city before the descent. The way down passes the Marchino cement works, an early twentieth-century factory preserved today as a monument of industrial archaeology and the gateway to the Bisenzio valley.

Prato welcomes the walker with a historic centre still girdled by its walls, the Castello dell'Imperatore built for Frederick II, and the cathedral of Santo Stefano, keeper of the relic of the Virgin's Holy Girdle. It is a textile city, lively and far less visited than neighbouring Florence, with good food and lodging for recovering.