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. On 3 April 2014, the Italian Chamber of Deputies gave its final approval to the Law n.56/2014 which involved 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. 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 1948: Notes Economy and culture The principal economic resources of the province of Cremona are agricultural. Rice is grown with the help of water drawn from canals. Other crops include maize (corn), locally called Melegot and barley and to a lesser extent, soya and sugar beet. Grapes are cultivated and wine produced, and there is also a silk industry. The farms in the province are some of the most productive in the country. Other industries are quite developed, mostly in the northern zone, near Crema, where there are textiles, chemical, and mechanical factories. Beef and dairy cattle are kept in the province. 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 area is famous for its food specialities, such as nougat (Italian: torrone) and mustard. It is unclear exactly where torrone originated, but the recipe used in Cremona is the