Palazzolo sull'Oglio


Palazzolo sull'Oglio is a city and comune in the Province of Brescia, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is located south of Lake Iseo, bordering the Province of Bergamo, and has a population of 20,208. It is the fifth largest city in the Province, after Brescia, Desenzano del Garda, Montichiari and Lumezzane.

History

The town was founded on the banks of the river Oglio. The first references to the name "Palazzolo" date to 830 AD.
Palazzolo was a fundamental industrial centre of Italy at the end of the 19th century and the city was known as the small Italian Manchester. On 24 August 1954, the town was celebrated as a city with a presidential decree.
The Tower of the People, the symbol of the city, was built between 1813 and 1830 and today is the highest round tower in Italy, with its 85 meters and 7 meters of statue on top.
The Roman bridge, in the city centre, is the oldest building of Palazzolo, dating back to the 4th century.

Main sights

The Mayor of Palazzolo is directly elected every five years by the population since 1995. The City Council has 16 members.
The current Mayor of Palazzolo is Gabriele Zanni elected on 21 May 2012, re-elected on 26 June 2017 on the second round with the 53.6% of the votes.
MayorTerm startTerm end Party
Marino Gamba19951998PPI
Gianpietro Metelli19982003FI
Giuliano Metelli20032009FI
Alessandro Sala20092012PdL
Gabriele Zanni2012incumbentPD

Transport

From Palazzolo it is very easy to get to the main cities and towns throughout Italy. The train station is not far from the centre and operates on the Lecco–Brescia railway. Milan and Venice can be reached by train changing in Bergamo or in Brescia. The A4 highway, the most important Italian route, has an exit called Palazzolo, that is actually in the north of the town. The nearest International Airport is Orio al Serio International Airport, just 15 minutes by car.

Sports

Founded in 1913, the soccer association for the town is Associazione Calcio Palazzolo. They play in the local stadium, Stadio Comunale, which holds up to 4,500 people.

Notable residents