Este

An ancient town on the edge of the Po plain near Padua, Italy. It has given its name to a rich Iron Age culture, the Atestine, of the 9th century BC. Profiting from its position, it flourished down to the invasion of the Celts in 4th century BC, and is particularly famous for its fine red and black cordoned vases, its magnificent situla art, and much fine sheet bronze work. The area was annexed by Rome in 184 BC.

The ancient name of this town standing in antiquity on the River Adige in northeast Italy was Ateste, which is now used to denote the striking Iron Age culture of the area from the 9th century BC. Profiting from its position, its maritime trade connections and its contacts with Greek and Etruscan cultures, the town became the leading centre of the area. Its craftsmen produced a variety of pottery types, including red and black cordoned wares made on a wheel (from the 6th century bc), and much fine sheet bronze work. The most impressive products of the bronzesmiths are the sheet bronze situlae, some plain, but others decorated in repoussé with zones of figures in scenes of feasting, sporting and warfare; the scenes indicate a mixture of local and Greek elements. Situlae and other decorated bronze objects were traded to the other side of the Adriatic, to the Bologna area and over the Alps into the eastern part of the Hallstatt Iron Age area. The florescence of the culture was from the 6th century to the mid-4th century, when northern Italy was invaded by Celts, but it continued until the area was annexed by Rome in 184 bc. It is likely that the Atestine culture is the archaeological manifestation of the Veneti, the tribe recorded as occupying this area in the classical sources.