Allegory of Prato; to the bottom, view of Livorno

Vasari's Allegory of Prato with a view of Livorno below, a fresco of 1557 in the Palazzo Vecchio, continues the series of Tuscan territorial allegories through which he mapped Medici dominion over the region for Cosimo I. Prato, the textile-producing city immediately west of Florence, was one of the most economically important towns under Florentine jurisdiction, while Livorno was the developing coastal city through which Florentine trade would increasingly flow as Cosimo invested in its harbour. The pairing of an inland manufacturing town with a coastal port city in a single fresco reflects the breadth of Tuscan economic geography under Medici oversight. Livorno was a particularly significant choice given Cosimo's active investment in developing it as Florence's principal seaport during precisely this period, making the fresco a near-contemporary record of his ambitions.

The fresco's dual register — allegorical figure above, topographical prospect below — required Vasari to work with the quick confidence that buon fresco technique demands. The Prato personification would carry attributes referencing the textile industry for which the city was famous, while the Livorno prospect would emphasise the harbour and coastal setting of Cosimo's developing port.