The province of Brescia (Italian: provincia di Brescia; Brescian: pruìnsa de Brèsa) is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Its capital is the eponymous city of Brescia.

With a population 1,271,759 in an area of 4,785.62 square kilometres (1,847.74 sq mi) across its 205 municipalities, it is the largest province of Lombardy. It is also the 2nd province of the region for the number of inhabitants and 5th in Italy, or the 1st excluding metropolitan cities.[5][6][1]

It borders the province of Sondrio to the north and north west, the province of Bergamo to the west, the province of Cremona to the south west and south, the province of Mantua to the south. On its northeastern border, Lake Garda—Italy's largest—is divided between Brescia and the neighboring provinces of Verona (Veneto region) and Trentino (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region).

The province stretches between Lake Iseo in the west, Lake Garda in the east, the Southern Rhaetian Alps in the north and the Lombardian plains in the south. The main rivers of the province are the Oglio, the Mella and the Chiese.

Besides Brescia, other important towns in the province are Travagliato, Darfo Boario Terme, Desenzano del Garda, Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Montichiari, Ghedi, Chiari, Rovato, Gussago, Rezzato, Concesio, Orzinuovi, Salò, Gardone Val Trompia and Lumezzane.

Geography

The province of Brescia is the largest in the region, boasts three main lakes, Lake Garda, Lake Iseo and Lake Idro, plus several other smaller lakes, three valleys, Val Camonica, Val Trompia and Valle Sabbia, as well as a wide flat area south of the city, known as the Bassa Bresciana, and several hilly areas surrounding the city landscape and extending eastwards towards Veneto and west to Franciacorta.

Due to the altitude and morphological variety and the presence of large lakes, the province includes all kinds of biomes in Europe: from something similar to the maquis shrubland up to the perennial snow of Adamello (with the largest glacier in the Italian Alps).

Valleys

The three main valleys on the territory of Brescia are the Val Camonica, crossed by the river Oglio and inserted in the northwestern part of the province from Adamello to Lake Iseo; Val Trompia, the river Mella basin, between the comuni (municipalities) of Concesio and Collio; and the Valle Sabbia which includes the comuni from Serle to Bagolino along the course of the river Chiese.

All the three valleys have the point of union the Croce Domini Pass, which takes the name from the "cross" formed by the union of the three basins.

Lakes

Within the province there are eight lakes. The main lake basin, in both dimensional, climatic and cultural terms, is Lake Garda, shared with the Veneto and Trentino regions, which with its 370 km2 (140 sq mi) of surface is the biggest lake in Italy. Because of its size, the lake has a considerable influence on the climate and the surrounding environment, generating a micro-geographic area in a more mitigated climate both in summer and winter.

Lake Iseo is the second lake of the area, and is situated at about 180 m above sea level, in an area called Sebino, between Val Camonica (north) and Franciacorta (south), which divides the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia.

Lake Idro, the third lake within the provincial territory, is located in Valle Sabbia, on the border between Brescia and the province of Trento, and differs from the other two main lakes for its modest size. The waters of the lake are mainly exploited for the irrigation of crops in contiguous territories, as well as for the production of energy through a small power plant located in the comune of Vobarno.

Other small lakes in the province are: Lago della Vacca (at an elevation of 2,358 m, in one of the coldest points of the province), Lago d'Arno, Lago Aviolo, Lago Baitone, Lago Moro and Lago di Valvestino.

Rivers

There are about 45 watercourses crossing the territory of the province, but almost all of them are torrents. The only watercourses that can be defined as real rivers are just three: Oglio, Chiese and Mella; divided between the three main valleys.

Extreme points

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1861440,092—    
1871461,845+4.9%
1881475,467+2.9%
1901541,765+13.9%
1911610,447+12.7%
1921662,920+8.6%
1931721,890+8.9%
1936744,571+3.1%
1951858,243+15.3%
1961882,949+2.9%
1971957,686+8.5%
19811,017,093+6.2%
19911,044,544+2.7%
20011,108,776+6.1%
20111,238,044+11.7%
20211,253,157+1.2%
Source: ISTAT[7][8]

As of 2026, the population is 1,271,759, of which 49.8% are male, and 50.2% are female. Minors make up 15.4% of the population, and seniors make up 23.6%.[9][10]

Immigration

As of 2025, of the known countries of birth of 1,241,299 residents, the most numerous are: Italy (1,065,005 – 85.8%), Albania (22,815 – 1.8%), India (19,294 – 1.6%), Romania (18,860 – 1.5%), Morocco (17,073 – 1.4%), Pakistan (15,201 – 1.2%), Moldova (10,270 – 0.8%), Senegal (8,557 – 0.7%), Egypt (7,616 – 0.6%).[11][12]

Government

Broletto Palace in Brescia is also the seat of the prefecture

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

The three main functions devolved to the province of Brescia 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 Brescia has its own elected bodies. From 1945 to 1995 the President of the province of Brescia was chosen by the members of the Provincial Council, elected every five years by citizens. From 1995 to 2014, 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 2015, the President (Commissioner) and other members of the Council do not receive a salary.[13]

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 list of the presidents of the province since 1945:

President Term start Term end   Party
Arturo Reggio 19 May 1945 28 May 1951 PLI
Ercoliano Bazoli 28 May 1951 10 May 1970 DC
Mino Martinazzoli 10 May 1970 22 June 1972 DC
Tarcisio Gitti 22 June 1972 15 May 1975 DC
Bruno Boni 15 May 1975 12 June 1985 DC
Vittorio Marniga 12 June 1985 30 November 1987 PSI
Costanzo Valli 30 November 1987 8 May 1995 PSI
Andrea Lepidi 8 May 1995 28 June 1999 PPI
Alberto Cavalli 28 June 1999 8 June 2009 FI
Daniele Molgora 8 June 2009 13 October 2014 LN
Pier Luigi Mottinelli 13 October 2014 2 November 2018 PD
Samuele Alghisi[a] 2 November 2018 30 January 2023 PD
Emanuele Moraschini[b] 30 January 2023 Incumbent Ind
Notes
  1. ^ Mayor of Manerbio.
  2. ^ Mayor of Esine.

Municipalities

Main article: List of municipalities of the Province of Brescia
Map showing the 205 municipalities of the province of Brescia
Map showing the zones of the province

The municipalities divided into their geographical zone (municipalities with more than 15,000 inhabitants are in bold) are listed below:

Municipal government

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

Municipality Mayor   Party Executive Term
Brescia Laura Castelletti Ind PD • SI • A • EV 2023–2028
Desenzano del Garda Guido Malinverno FI FI • Lega • FdI 2022–2027
Montichiari Marco Togni Lega FI • Lega • FdI 2024–2029
Lumezzane Josehf Facchini Lega FI • Lega • FdI 2024–2029
Palazzolo sull'Oglio Gianmarco Cossandi PD PD • Ind 2022–2027
Rovato Tiziano Belotti Lega FI • Lega • FdI 2020–2026
Chiari Gabriele Zotti Lega FI • Lega • FdI 2024–2029
Ghedi Federico Casali Lega FI • Lega • FdI 2024–2029
Gussago Giovanni Coccoli Ind Ind 2022–2027
Lonato del Garda Roberto Tardani FI FI • Lega • FdI 2020–2026
Concesio Agostino Damiolini Lega FI • Lega • FdI 2024–2029
Darfo Boario Terme Dario Colossi Ind Ind 2022–2027

Main sights

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites in the province of Brescia
Rock Drawings in Valcamonica
Brescia
Prehistoric settlements around the Alps

Castles and fortress

There are many castles and fortress located in:

Other sights

References

  1. ^ a b "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011" (in Italian). ISTAT.
  2. ^ "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01. (On the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  3. ^ "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  4. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional Gross Domestic Product (Small regions TL3), OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01. (On the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  6. ^ "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  7. ^ "Popolazione residente e presente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1971" [Resident and present population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1971] (PDF) (in Italian). ISTAT. 1971-10-24.
  8. ^ "Dashboard Permanent census of population and housing". ISTAT.
  9. ^ "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01. (On the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  10. ^ "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  11. ^ "Resident population by sex, municipality and individual citizenship or country of birth from year 2002". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2025-01-01. Retrieved 2025-02-27. (Click on 'View by country of birth', and on the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  12. ^ "Resident population by sex, municipality and individual citizenship or country of birth from year 2002". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2025-01-01. Retrieved 2025-02-27.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  13. ^ "Le elezioni". 25 November 2016.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Brescia