PRATO AND PROVINCE
interactive map of Prato and its Province
PUBLICATIONS
Pratomese May 2013
PDF May 2013 (1138 KB)
Prato is
PDF Guide (1393 KB)
Commune of Vaiano
Comune di Vaiano - Piazza Del Comune, 4 - 59021 Vaiano - Tel. 0574 94241
Vaiano is the most important centre in the Val di Bisenzio. Of Roman origin, the first good-sized town had grown up already before the year One Thousand around the Badia (Abbey). With the possibility of utilising the water of the river for hydraulic power and as aid to manufacturing, fulling mills, paper mills and foundries were built here starting in the Middle Ages, and from the second half of the 19th century the town became a textile centre of notable importance. In 1949 Vaiano became an autonomous Commune. The overall surface area of the communal territory is 34.24 km2. The inhabitants number 9,838 in all (2008). The Commune includes the localities of Fabio, Faltugnano, Gamberame, Grisciavola, La Briglia, La Cartaia, La Foresta, La Tignamica, Popigliano, Schignano and Sofignano. The building of the greatest historical/artistic interest is the Abbey of San Salvatore, situated at the heart of the town. Of particular interest the Villa Vai al Mulinaccio. Located in Vaiano, in the buildings of the Commune, is the Centro di Documentazione Storico-Etnografico della Val di Bisenzio (Val Bisenzio Centre of Historic-Ethnographic Documentation) with its rich archives of historic photographs and oral sources.