The province of Piacenza covers an area of 2589 square kilometres and is located in the north west of Emilia Romagna, south of the river Po.

Two thirds of the area is mountainous. Moving south from the river Po , however, one finds a fertile plain and hills covered by vineyards which produce a highly regarded type of grape: there are 18 wines from the area of Piacenza which are of controlled origin or DOC. One also finds the mountains of the Appennino Emiliano Ligure whose highest point is the Monte Bue( Bull Mountain) which stands at a height of 1777m.

The local administrative structure is made up of 48 Communes and three Mountain Communities.

The area has a population of 263309, of which 95,132 is concentrated in the area of Piacenza itself. 24.4% of the population is made up of people of old age. The average family size is 2.31 . 23% of the population have a qualification higher than that of the obligatory school diploma and 3% have a university degree.

The rate of employment is 49.4% while unemployment stands at 5.1%.

The manufacturing sector is prevalent in the economy and is characterised by small and medium sized firms which are particularly active in the mechanical sector.

Points of excellence include robotics and industrial automation.

Emerging sectors of the local economy, in terms of quality and quantity of products, are agriculture and activities linked with the transformation of products.

The provincial administration.

The provincial administration of Piacenza is a local governmental body which rests between the communes and regions in the Italian administrative hierarchy . From this position it promotes the develop of the region and its communities.

The province of Piacenza has 382 employees and a budget of around 100 million euros.

The province of Piacenza exercises a role in the following areas

Protection of the land
Environmental protection
Disaster prevention
Protection and development of water resources
Promotion and development of cultural activities and facilities
Protection of flora and fauna
Provision of refuse services
Control of industrial waste, atmospheric emissions and noise pollution
Problems linked to higher education and professional training;
Technical and administrative assistance to local public bodies
Regional planning, above all concerning the elaboration and adoption of the land coordination program

The province of Piacenza has competencies in the following areas

Agriculture
Professional training
Tourism
Hunting
Urban planning
Energy
Environment
Civil protection and relief services
Mining operations
School programming
Support services and voluntary servicesLabour market
Transport
Communications