With about 130 inhabitants and 4.9 km2 of territory, Irma is the smallest and least populous municipality in Valle Trompia. Like a nest inside a tree hollow, a little higher up the trunk, it does not start at the bottom of the valley and does not reach the peaks, but it is there, nestled in the raised basin that begins just before the village and ends under the horns of Monte Ario. The autonomy practised and claimed by Irma was repeatedly lost and regained over the centuries, characterising the history of this community known already in Roman times for its abundance of forests and excellent quality water, guaranteed by the presence of various streams, underground aquifers and springs, the village probably owes its name Herma until the 12th century, to its isolated position (from the Latin eremus). A second descent of the place name, admittedly less credible, is from Hermes, a Greek god called Mercury by the Latins. It credits the relationship to the discovery of a Roman bronze statuette depicting Mercury, preserved in the S. Giulia Museum in Brescia.