One of Italy‘s northern regions, Lombardy is located between the river Po and the central Alps. The southern part of the region is the central part of the Po plain, bordered to the west by Lake Maggiore and the river Ticino and in the east by Lake Garda and the river Mincio, to a narrow strip of woodland up to the mountainous zone, prealpine and alpine going higher and higher. For administrative reasons it is divided into the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Mantua, Milan, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese, Lecco and Lodi (the latter two instituted in 1992). Although Lombardy is often seen as a region with a strictly economic vocation, is also posses an exceptionally rich artistic patrimony. Proof of the value of this regional artistic patrimony is the fact that Lombardy, with it's nine sites is the region of Italy with the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites.