Prato is world-famous for its textile industry based on reuse and the so-called circular economy. Starting in the 19th century, full-cycle wool mills began to spring up in the town, whose production process used rags or the low-value scraps of yarn and fabric production, to be transformed into finished and ennobled fabrics. In the post-war period, small artisans established themselves by working with rags imported from the United States of America or made from the same uniforms used by soldiers during the war.

After the liberation of Florence on 11 August 1944, the Allies stayed for several days on the banks of the Arno River. The advance only resumed at the beginning of September and on the 6th of the same month the South Africans entered Prato, without encountering any resistance from the Germans. However, that morning they were preceded by some partisan formations that reached the town centre, occupying the Town Hall. The South African advance continued towards Figline. The Germans had meanwhile retreated to the Apennine mountains, entrenching themselves in the defences of the Gothic Line.