|
ESTE |
| If you're dependent on public transport, about the best base from
which to roam around the Colli Euganei is the ceramics-producing town of
ESTE , on the southern edge of the range and just an eight-minute train
ride from Monsélice. Sporadic buses run up into the hills from here, and
the chief tourist office of the Colli Euganei, the Pro Loco Sud-Est, is
at Piazza Maggiore 9 (Mon-Fri 10am-noon & 4-6pm; tel 0429.3635). Right out of the piazza, you come face to face with the ruined Castello dei Carraresi , parts of which went to build the nearby sixteenth-century palace that now houses the Museo Nazionale Atestino (daily 9am-7pm; L4000/¬2.07). The Veneto's outstanding collection of pre-Roman artefacts is installed on the first floor, while much of the ground floor is given over to Roman remains. The room devoted to medieval pieces includes a Madonna and Child by Cima that was once stolen from the local church of Santa Maria della Consolazione and is now here for safekeeping. The Baroque Duomo , the plan of which anticipates the pietà in Venice, contains a huge altarpiece of St Thecla by G. B. Tiepolo - unusually, it is set in a scene of pestilence and death rather than in one of his light-filled heavens. There's a pair of good two-star hotels in Este: the Leon d'Oro , Viale Fiume 20 (tel 0429.602.949; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48); and the Beatrice d'Este , Via Rimembranze 1 (tel 0429.600.533; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98). For food , try Al Gambero , Via d'Azeglio 6 (closed Sat), or Da Piero Ceschi , Piazza Trento 16 (closed Thurs). |