Civic Tower of Porta Vecchia (17th century).

The Civic Tower of Este, commonly known as Porta Vecchia, is a late 17th century construction that is striking for its position and its imposing and spectacular appearance. We can consider it, together with the Castle, the monument-symbol of Este. Originally, where the current tower now stands, there was a masonry tower that served as a gateway to the village for those coming from the south or west. It certainly already existed in the thirteenth century, when the city was ruled by the marquises of Este. In the following century the tower took the name of Carrarese, in honor of the family that held the lordship of Padua and that freed Este from the Scaligeri, then building the castle that still exists. The old tower was damaged and made unstable by the earthquake of April 1688, the same that caused the central nave of the Cathedral of Santa Tecla to collapse. The authorities of the time decided for safety reasons to proceed with the demolition of the building and in 1690 the new tower was built, the Porta Vecchia that we can all see today. The new building was embellished with unique Ghibelline merlons and in the 1700s a large clock was placed on the side facing the square, showing the phases of the moon in addition to the 12-hour Roman numerals. The tower is divided internally into three rooms: the "fireplace room", connected to the entrance on the ground floor by a circular trachyte spiral staircase; the "mezzanine room", which is accessed via another modern spiral wooden staircase; the belfry that houses a valuable seventeenth-century bell.