Province of Vicenza

The Province of Vicenza (Provincia di Vicenza) is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital city is Vicenza.

The province has an area of 2,723 km², and a total population of 874,630 (as of 2012). There are 121 comuni (municipalities) in the province. Important towns in the province include Bassano del Grappa, Montecchio Maggiore, Torri di Quartesolo, Schio, Noventa Vicentina, Thiene, Marostica, Lonigo, Arzignano, and Valdagno.

The province's president, since 2007, is Attilio Schneck of the Liga Veneta party. Liga Veneta is a member of the Liga Nord (Northern League). group of political parties that, in turn, is part of the center-right coalition. Before him, the president was Manuela Dal Lago, also a member of the Liga Veneta.

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 ares 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 and agricultural depression. Towns in the western section such as Valdagno and Montecchio suffer from high unemployment, following a decline in steel and textile industries, the Colli Berici and Basso Vicentino remaining overwhelmingly agricultural also presents high levels of unemployment. The heavily industrial Alto Vicentino area alone accounts for half of the provinces GDP.

India's most influential woman, Sonia Gandhi (born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino in the small village of Lusiana), the widow of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was born in the province of Vicenza. She currently resides in New Delhi. She was named the third-most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004 and currently ranks sixth. She was also named among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for the years 2007 and 2008.

The famous inventor Federico Faggin, an Italian physicist/electrical engineer principally responsible for the design of the first microprocessor, was born in Vicenza.