The province occupies the central section of Padana Plain, so the whole territory is flat, without any mountains or hills, crossed by several rivers, such as the Serio and Adda, and artificial canals, most of which are used for irrigation.

From the fifth century BC, Gallic tribes invaded and settled in the region, building several cities (including Milan) and ruling the land as far as the Adriatic Sea.

[2] Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Lombardy was invaded by successive waves of tribes, the last of which was the Germanic Lombards in the late sixth century.

Stability followed until 774 when the Frankish king Charlemagne conquered the area and annexed the Kingdom of the Lombards (most of northern and central Italy) to his empire.

[3] The province of Cremona is a long, relatively narrow part of the Padana Plain in northern Italy, the outline of which is circumscribed by rivers.

For historical reasons, the province is subdivided into four rural districts, centred on Crema, Soresina, Cremona and Casalmaggiore.

In a 2005 ruling of the European Court of Justice, the comune of Cingia de' Botti's award of a concession contract for public gas distribution services was criticised, as the contract had been awarded to a company called Padania without a competitive procurement process, contrary to EU regulations.

Padania was a public-sector company owned by the province and most of the provincial comunes, including Cingia de’ Botti, but also open, at least to some degree, to private part-ownership.

[10] 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.

[11] Other crops include maize (corn), locally called Melegot and barley and to a lesser extent, soya and sugar beet.

The beef serves as an ingredient for local dishes, and milk from the dairy cows is used to create traditional cheeses as well as producing butter and cream.

The town became renowned for the violins and other musical instruments that were made here (many members of the Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri and Bergonzi families of luthiers were all prominent citizens of Cremona), and was also well known for its concert bands.