Population is unevenly spread throughout the province. More than 60% of the populace resides in densely industrialised areas in the eastern, western, and northern (known as Alto Vicentino) conurbations, as well as the area surrounding Bassano del Grappa. The remaining 40% reside in predominantly rural areas in the southern part of the province (the Colli Berici and Basso Vicentino) or the Asiago plateau.
Economic development in some areas is hindered by industrial andagricultural depression. Towns in the western section such as Valdagno and Montecchio Maggiore suffer from high unemployment, following a decline in steel and textile industries. The Colli Berici and Basso Vicentino remain overwhelmingly agricultural and present high levels of unemployment. The heavily industrial Alto Vicentino area alone accounts for half of the province'sGDP.
Federico Faggin, an Italian physicist/electrical engineer principally responsible for the design of the first microprocessor, was born in Vicenza.
The industrial sector plays a primary role and over the last half century has supplanted the predominant agricultural sector: since the second post-war period, the province has in fact been one of the major interpreters of the remarkable economic and industrial development of the Northeast of Italy. The most important economic activities in the province are textile, tanning, marble extraction, ceramics, furniture, but above all jewelry.
Small and medium-sized enterprises predominate on the territory, making the province of Vicenza one of the most important on a national level, and which have developed, giving rise to mainly 4 industrial districts:
The leather district in the Chiampo Valley, inArzignano,Chiampo, Montorso Vicentino, Zermeghedo and Montebello Vicentino,
The wool and yarn district in the towns ofSchio andValdagno (historically linked to the two large local industries,Lanerossi andMarzotto respectively)
The goldsmith district in Vicenza,Trissino and Camisano Vicentino
The electronics district in Vicenza
Other activities typically linked to the territory are:
According to theEuropean Environment Agency, in 2023 it was the 362nd most polluted city in Europe (out of a sample of 375 cities) and the third in Italy, after the provinces of Cremona and Padua.[3]
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