Este

Este stands at the foot of the Euganean Hills southwest of Padua. Ancient Ateste was a major centre of the Veneti, whose inscriptions survive on funerary and votive objects. The Roman colony settled veterans here after the battle of Actium. In the Middle Ages the castle here gave its name to the House of Este, later rulers of Ferrara and Modena.

Ezzelino da Romano twice conquered the town in the thirteenth century. The Scaligeri, Carraresi and Visconti contested Este during the fourteenth century. In 1405 the town submitted to Venice, beginning a long period under the republic. Its economy grew, though the plague of 1630 interrupted that prosperity. After Venice fell in 1797 and the Napoleonic wars reshaped northern Italy, Este passed under Austrian rule.