Founded in the tenth century BCE on the plain formed bymeanders of the RiverMincio, Mantua became anEtruscan town and important trading post for pottery and agricultural products. Despite its defensible position, it was unable to withstand theCeltic invaders in the sixth and fifth centuries BC who overwhelmed it, and the whole area was later conquered by theRomans.[2]
The current administrative boundaries of the province have deep historical roots, corresponding largely to theDuchy of Mantua, which was a fief of theHoly Roman Empire. The Napoleonic Department of the Mincio became the Province of Mantua at the birth of theKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia in 1815. Following theBattle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, Franco-Piedmontese troops conquered Lombardy up to the right bank of the Mincio, and the resultingArmistice of Villafranca of 11 June 1859 between France and Austria called for the new provincial boundaries, splitting in two the part of the previous Province of Mantova that was crossed by the new international border. Following theThird Italian War of Independence all of Mantua passed to theKingdom of Italy. The new provincial boundaries came into effect after laws enacted in 1868. The coat of arms of the province, containing the symbols of Mantua,Bozzolo andCastiglione delle Stiviere, embodies the union of those three areas and was adopted in place of the previous one.
The Province of Mantua is bounded by several rivers. To the west, theRiver Oglio provides the border with theProvince of Cremona. To the south it is bounded by theRiver Po, on the other side of which are the provinces ofFerrara,Modena,Reggio Emilia andParma. To the east the River Mincio provides the border with theProvince of Verona and theProvince of Rovigo, and to the northwest lies theProvince of Brescia. The total area of the province is 2,340 square kilometres (900 sq mi).[3] The River Po is subject to flooding and much of the bank is raised bylevees.
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 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 theleast weasel,beech marten andEuropean polecat, and the birds include thecommon buzzard, thegreat spotted woodpecker and theEurasian wryneck.[4]
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, theItalian 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, calledassessori. Since 2016, the President (Commissioner) and other members of the Council do not receive a salary.[5]
In each province, there is also a Prefect (prefetto), a representative of the central government who heads an agency calledprefettura-ufficio territoriale del governo. The Questor (questore) is the head of State's Police (Polizia di Stato) in the province and his office is calledquestura. There is also a province's police force depending from local government, calledprovincial police (polizia provinciale).
This is a partial list of the Presidents of the Province since 1975:
Despite Mantuan landscape is primarily an agricultural one and theprimary sector accounted for the 6% of localGDP in 2003, much above Italian average, the province has an historically strongindustrial sector, which accounts for 37% of the GDP, while thetertiary sector holds the remaining 56%.[6] Overall, the gross domestic product of the province was estimated in 2003 at over €10 billion.[6]
The productivity of agriculture is enhanced by a well-developed use of fertilizers and the traditional abundance of water. It is largely flat and the soil is very fertile and is intensively irrigated, boosted since the Middle Ages by the construction of a wide net of irrigation canals which were partly designed byLeonardo da Vinci. Crops grown includewheat,maize,rice,sugar beet,potatoes andvegetables.Olives,grapes,chestnuts and many other sorts of fruit are grown;mulberry plants are grown for their contribution tosilk production, orsericulture. The lower plains are characterized by fodder crops, which are mowed up to eight times a year.Cattle are also bred andcheese and otherdairy products are manufactured. The main exports from the province include cereals, rice, cheese and silk, but most industrial goods need to be imported.[7]
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