Este, where ancient Venetic civilisation meets the Carraresi castle

A city that predates Rome

When people speak of ancient Veneto, their thoughts jump immediately to Venice. But the history of this region begins long before the Serenissima, and the place where you can touch it with your own hands is Este, a small city of sixteen thousand inhabitants at the southern foot of the Euganean Hills. Here flourished the civilisation of the ancient Veneti — the Paleoveneti — a people who between the ninth and second centuries BC developed a refined culture of votive bronzes, figured ceramics and their own alphabet. Este is not just the place where these finds were discovered: it is the centre from which that civilisation took its name, because the word «Ateste» itself gave rise to the epithet «atestino» with which archaeologists designate the entire culture.

Reaching Este from Padua takes less than forty minutes by car, yet the sensation is of entering a world apart: a human-scale city with a compact historic centre, arcaded squares and that slow rhythm of the Venetian plain towns that have given up haste without giving up dignity.

The Museo Nazionale Atestino: a journey into Venetic prehistory

The Museo Nazionale Atestino is housed in the sixteenth-century Palazzo Mocenigo, right at the foot of the castle, and represents one of the most important archaeological collections in northern Italy. The halls lead the visitor through millennia of history: from Prehistory to the Bronze Age, from the flourishing of Paleovenetic civilisation to Romanisation.

The most celebrated pieces are the Situla Benvenuti — a seventh-century BC bronze bucket decorated with scenes of banquets, processions and athletic contests of surprising fineness — and the votive bronze plaques that devotees offered to the goddess Reitia at the local sanctuary. These objects tell of a complex, commercially vibrant and artistically original society that engaged with Etruscans, Greeks and trans-Alpine peoples.

The museum is lightly visited even in summer months: you tour the halls at leisure, without crowds, accompanied by a sober but effective display. For those who love archaeology it is a rare experience; for those who do not, it may well be the place that changes their mind.

The Carraresi Castle and its gardens

The Castello dei Carraresi dominates the city from above with its massive walls and corner towers tracing an imposing perimeter. Built in the fourteenth century by the da Carrara family, lords of Padua, the castle underwent alterations over the centuries that modified its appearance without erasing its majesty. Today the walled enclosure contains a large public garden — one of the finest in the Veneto — where the people of Este stroll among tree-lined avenues, roses and lawns in the shadow of the medieval towers.

Walking along the path that skirts the walls offers an unusual perspective on the city and the Euganean Hills. In spring the garden bursts with colour; in autumn the trees turn red and gold, creating a striking contrast with the grey stone of the walls.

The Duomo, the villas and the urban atmosphere

The Duomo di Santa Tecla, rebuilt in the eighteenth century to a design by Antonio Gaspari, houses a large altarpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo — Saint Thecla Interceding for the People of Este Stricken by the Plague — which on its own justifies a visit. The luminosity characteristic of Tiepolo and the drama of the scene strike even those who are not passionate about art history.

Strolling through the centre you encounter aristocratic palaces, sixteenth-century arcades and corners that reveal the city's historical layering. Villa Kunkler, just outside the ancient nucleus, is an example of a nineteenth-century residence surrounded by greenery that testifies to the bourgeois prosperity of Este in the Habsburg period. The Viale delle Rimembranze, flanked by centuries-old plane trees, leads from the centre toward the countryside with a walk ideal for late afternoon.

At the table and in the surroundings

The cuisine of Este is that of the Euganean Hills: genuine, tied to the land and the seasons. You eat bigoli with duck sauce, polenta with soppressa and chiodini mushrooms in autumn, and drink the wine of the Colli — from sparkling Serprino to the Colli Cabernet. The trattorias in the centre offer honest-priced lunches in simple, welcoming surroundings.

Este is also an excellent base for exploring the Euganean Hills: Arquà Petrarca, Monselice with its Rocca, and Montagnana with its walls are all reachable in less than half an hour. The Colli Euganei cycle route passes right through here, offering a slow and pleasant way to discover the territory.

How to get there and when to visit

Este can be reached by train from Padua on the Montagnana-Mantua line (about 35 minutes). By car, the nearest motorway exit is Terme Euganee on the A13. The city can be visited year-round: spring and autumn are ideal for the climate and colours; winter is tranquil and evocative on foggy days when the mist wraps around the castle; summer is warm but the castle gardens offer shade and coolness.

Practical information

- The Museo Nazionale Atestino is open every day except Monday; affordable entry fee.

- The castle gardens are free to enter and open from dawn to dusk.

- Weekly market on Saturday mornings under the arcades in the centre.

- Bicycle hire available in the centre for excursions into the Euganean Hills.