thumb|The lakes and surroundings of Mantua

The province of Mantua (; Mantuan, Lower Mantuan: ; Upper Mantuan: ) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Mantua. It is bordered to the north-east by the province of Verona, to the east by the province of Rovigo, to the south by the province of Ferrara, province of Modena, province of Reggio Emilia, and province of Parma, to the west by the province of Cremona, and to the north-west by the province of Brescia.

History

Founded in the tenth century BCE on the plain formed by meanders of the River Mincio, Mantua became an Etruscan town and important trading post for pottery and agricultural products. Despite its defensible position, it was unable to withstand the Celtic invaders in the sixth and fifth centuries BC who overwhelmed it, and the whole area was later conquered by the Romans.

By the fifth century CE, the Western Roman Empire was collapsing. Mantua was overrun by a series of invaders, including the Visigoths, Vandals, and Ostrogoths. After 568 the Lombards seized control of the part of northern Italy which is now known as Lombardy and included Mantua. The River Po is subject to flooding and much of the bank is raised by levees.

Protected areas

thumb|left|250px|[[Mincio river in the countryside]]

There are a number of nature reserves and protected areas in the province. The Parco regionale del Mincio was established on 8 September 1984 with an area of approximately 16,000 hectares. It includes several nature reserves and has a range of habitats including moraines, hills, plains, and the meandering riverbeds in the complex of lakes of Mantua. Birds found in the park include storks, herons, purple herons, egrets, night herons, kingfishers, bee-eaters, coots, moorhens, peregrine falcons, hawks, great crested grebe and black kite.

The Parco dell'Oglio Sud is another regional park that lies on the boundary of the province with the province of Cremona. It was established in 1988 and has an area of about 12,800 hectares. It is a river park that runs along the stretch of the river Oglio which forms the boundary. It lies to the south of Lake Iseo and the administrative centre is at Calvatone. Birds present in this park include great egret, grey heron, Montagu's harrier, Eurasian scops owl, bearded reedling, woodcock, barred warbler, crested lark, sedge warbler, moustached warbler, little egret, Eurasian hobby and ferruginous duck.

The Riserva naturale Bosco Fontana is a state nature reserve with an area of about 23,300 hectares. It is a wooded area that is a remnant of the natural forests that covered the Po valley in ancient times. It is a dense marshy forest composed mainly of Turkey oaks, pedunculate oaks, hornbeams, limes, poplars, elms and alders, which are accompanied by numerous species of shrubby undergrowth. There are glades with abundant wildflowers and fungi flourish among the trees, an important factor being the richness of the groundwater. Among the mammals found in the reserve are the least weasel, beech marten and European polecat, and the birds include the common buzzard, the great spotted woodpecker and the Eurasian wryneck.

Government

thumb|250px|right|Map of the province of Mantua

thumb|250px|right|Map showing the 70 comuni of the province. The city of [[Mantua is shown in red.]]

The Province of Mantua is an administrative body of intermediate level between a municipality (comune) and Lombardy region.

The three main functions devolved to the Province of Mantua are:

  • local planning and zoning;
  • provision of local police and fire services;
  • transportation regulation (car registration, maintenance of local roads, etc.).

As an administrative institution, the Province of Mantua has its own elected bodies. From 1948 to 1993 the President of the Province of Mantua was chosen by the members of the Provincial Council, elected every five years by citizens. From 1993 to 2016, under provisions of the 1993 local administration reform, the President of the Province was chosen by popular election, originally every four, then every five years.

On 3 April 2014, the Italian Chamber of Deputies gave its final approval to the Law n.56/2014 which involves the transformation of the Italian provinces into "institutional bodies of second level". According to the 2014 reform, each province is headed by a President (or Commissioner) assisted by a legislative body, the Provincial Council, and an executive body, the Provincial Executive. President (Commissioner) and members of Council are elected together by mayors and city councilors of each municipality of the province respectively every four and two years. The Executive is chaired by the President (Commissioner) who appoint others members, called assessori. Since 2016, the President (Commissioner) and other members of the Council do not receive a salary.

In each province, there is also a Prefect (prefetto), a representative of the central government who heads an agency called prefettura-ufficio territoriale del governo. The Questor (questore) is the head of State's Police (Polizia di Stato) in the province and his office is called questura. There is also a province's police force depending from local government, called provincial police (polizia provinciale).

This is a partial list of the Presidents of the Province since 1975:

{|class="wikitable"

|-

! President

! Term start

! Term end

! class=unsortable| 

! Party

|-

|Maurizio Lotti

|align=center|1975

|align=center|1983

|bgcolor=|

|PCI

|-

|Guido Contessa

|align=center|1983

|align=center|1985

|bgcolor=|

|PCI

|-

|Massimo Chiaventi

|align=center|1985

|align=center|1993

|bgcolor=|

|PCI

|-

|

|

|

|

|

|-

|Davide Boni

|align=center|20 June 1993

|align=center|12 May 1997

|bgcolor=|

|LN

|-

|Tiziana Gualtieri

|align=center|12 May 1997

|align=center|28 May 2001

|bgcolor=pink|

|PPI

|-

|Maurizio Fontanili

|align=center|28 May 2001

|align=center|30 May 2011

|bgcolor=|

|PD

|-

|Alessandro Pastacci

|align=center|30 May 2011

|align=center|31 August 2016

|bgcolor=|

|PD

|-

|

|

|

|

|

|-

|Beniamino Morselli

|align=center|31 August 2016

|align=center|19 December 2021

|bgcolor=|

|PD

|-

|Carlo Bottani

|align=center|19 December 2021

|align=center|Incumbent

|bgcolor=|

|Ind

|}

;Notes

Economy

thumb|right|250px|Fields near [[Po (river)|Po river in Viadana]]

Despite Mantuan landscape is primarily an agricultural one and the primary sector accounted for the 6% of local GDP in 2003, much above Italian average, the province has an historically strong industrial sector, which accounts for 37% of the GDP, while the tertiary sector holds the remaining 56%. Overall, the gross domestic product of the province was estimated in 2003 at over €10 billion.

Municipalities

thumb|[[Mantua]]

thumb|[[Castiglione delle Stiviere]]

thumb|[[Suzzara]]

thumb|[[Viadana, Lombardy|Viadana]]

thumb|[[Porto Mantovano]]

Here is a list of the most populated municipalities of the province.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-

! Rank

! Municipality

! Population<br><small>as of 2017</small>

! Area<br/> (km<sup>2</sup>)

! Density<br/> (inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>)

! Altitude<br/> (mslm)

|-

| 1st

|Mantua

|49,403

|63.81

|

|19

|-

| 2nd

|Castiglione delle Stiviere

|23,704

|42.02

|

|116

|-

| 3rd

|Suzzara

|21,288

|60.10

|

|20

|-

| 4th

|Viadana

|20,151

|103,84

|

|26

|-

| 5th

|Porto Mantovano

|16,513

|37.44

|

|29

|}

The full list is:

  • Acquanegra sul Chiese
  • Asola
  • Bagnolo San Vito
  • Bigarello
  • Borgo Mantovano
  • Borgo Virgilio
  • Borgocarbonara
  • Bozzolo
  • Canneto sull'Oglio
  • Casalmoro
  • Casaloldo
  • Casalromano
  • Castel Goffredo
  • Castel d'Ario
  • Castelbelforte
  • Castellucchio
  • Castiglione delle Stiviere
  • Cavriana
  • Ceresara
  • Commessaggio
  • Curtatone
  • Dosolo
  • Gazoldo degli Ippoliti
  • Gazzuolo
  • Goito
  • Gonzaga
  • Guidizzolo
  • Magnacavallo
  • Mantua
  • Marcaria
  • Mariana Mantovana
  • Marmirolo
  • Medole
  • Moglia
  • Monzambano
  • Motteggiana
  • Ostiglia
  • Pegognaga
  • Piubega
  • Poggio Rusco
  • Pomponesco
  • Ponti sul Mincio
  • Porto Mantovano
  • Quingentole
  • Quistello
  • Redondesco
  • Rivarolo Mantovano
  • Rodigo
  • Roncoferraro
  • Roverbella
  • Sabbioneta
  • San Benedetto Po
  • San Giacomo delle Segnate
  • San Giorgio di Mantova
  • San Giovanni del Dosso
  • San Martino dall'Argine
  • Schivenoglia
  • Sermide e Felonica
  • Serravalle a Po
  • Solferino
  • Sustinente
  • Suzzara
  • Viadana
  • Villimpenta
  • Volta Mantovana

Municipal government

Here is a list of the municipal government in cities and towns with more than 15,000 inhabitants:

{|class="wikitable"

|-

! Municipality

! Mayor

! class=unsortable|&nbsp;

! Party

! Executive

! Term

|-

|Mantua

|Mattia Palazzi

|bgcolor=|

|PD

|align=center bgcolor=#FFDAE1|PDSI

|2020–2025

|-

|Castiglione delle Stiviere

|Enrico Volpi

|bgcolor=|

|LN

|align=center bgcolor=#BEE1F5|FILNFdI

|2022–2027

|-

|Suzzara

|Alessandro Guastalli

|bgcolor=|

|PD

|align=center bgcolor=#FFDAE1|PDAVSM5S

|2024–2029

|-

|Viadana

|Nicola Cavatorta

|bgcolor=|

|LN

|align=center bgcolor=#BEE1F5|FILNFdI

|2020–2025

|-

|Porto Mantovano

|Maria Paola Salvarani

|bgcolor=|

|FdI

|align=center bgcolor=#BEE1F5|FILNFdI

|2024–2029

|}

Transport

thumb|[[Autostrada A22 (Italy)|Autostrada A22 near Pegognaga]]

Motorways

  • Autostrada A22: Modena-Brenner Pass

Railway lines

  • Verona–Bologna railway
  • Brescia–Parma railway

<gallery mode="packed">

File:Mantova - Profilo di Mantova.jpg|<div align="center">Mantua</div>

File:Sabbioneta-galleria degli antichi.jpg|<div align="center">Sabbioneta</div>

File:AbbaziaDelPolirone SanBenedettoPo.jpg|<div align="center">San Benedetto Po</div>

File:Madonna dei Correggioli - Strada Provinciale 57, Viadana, Mantova, Italia - 15 Ottobre 2016.jpg|<div align="center">Nearby Po river in Viadana</div>

File:Ceresara Via Roma.jpg|<div align="center">Ceresara</div>

File:Castellaro Lagusello - panoramio.jpg|<div align="center">Monzambano</div>

File:Casalmoro Madonna del Dosso.jpg|<div align="center">Casalmoro</div>

File:Santurio della Madonna delle Grazie dietro al loto delle Valli del Mincio - panoramio.jpg|<div align="center">Curtatone</div>

File:Ossarium in Solferino 04.jpg|<div align="center">Ossuary of Solferino</div>

File:Solferino LCD.jpg|Solferino

</gallery>

See also

  • Upper Mantua

References

  • Official website

<br>