Cathedral, Prato

On the walls of the choir are two cycles of frescoes painted by Fra Filippo Lippi at the height of his artistic powers (1452-66). On the left are scenes from the life of St Stephen (to whom the church is dedicated), on the right the life of John the Baptist. In the latter series note particularly the scene of Herod's feast: the graceful figure of Salome dancing is traditionally identified as the nun Lucrezia Buti, who became Filippo's wife and bore his son Filippino. To the right of the choir is the Cappella dell'Ángelo Cústode (Chapel of the Guardian Angel), with frescoes by two unknown 15th century masters, and beyond this is the Cappella del Crocofosso (Chapel of the Crucifix), with 19th century wall-paintings. There are also two chapels to the left of the choir. The first has 15th century frescoes (legends of St James the Elder and St Margaret of Antioch); in the second is the Tomb of Filippo Inghirami (15th century), which is attributed to the Florentine sculptor Niccolò de' Bardi.

At the west end of the north aisle of the Prato Cathedral is the Cappella del Sacro Cíngolo (Chapel of the Holy Girdle), constructed in the late 14th century to house the Holy Girdle. The legend of this famous and much- venerated relic is recounted in the frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi (1392-95) in the chapel. The story goes that during her Assumption the Virgin gave her girdle to the Apostle Thomas, who presented it to a priest. Later a Prato merchant named Michele Dagonari received the relic as his wife's dowry when he married a girl named Mary in the Holy Land. He brought it back to Prato and, directed by Angels, presented it to representatives of the Church and the City. To this day, therefore, the Bishop and the Mayor of Prato each possess a key to the shrine containing the sacred relic, which can be opened only by both of them together when the relic is taken out to be displayed on feast days.