The Parish Church of Santa Tecla in Este has had back in the apse of the Cathedral its very own Pala del Tiepolo by Giambattista Tiepolo, where it rightly belongs: it was placed there for the very first time back in 1759, on Christmas’s Eve day.

After 261 years from that significant event and eight years of meticulous restoration, the Pala del Tiepolo is placed again in the Cathedral: an event that we would have loved to celebrate with the Community, especially this year that makes the 250th anniversary of Tiepolo’s death, but the situation only allows you to admire this great masterpiece.

Eight years have passed since the Pala left the city of Este to begin the long restoration process. Meanwhile, the Cathedral, built between the end of the 1600s and the beginning of the 1700s,
has been completely restored, both externally and internally, highlighting all the peculiarities of its original elliptical-shaped architecture.

The restoration of the Altarpiece had to undergo a meticulous cleaning job, but now Giovanbattista Tiepolo’s Altarpiece has returned home and the joy of the Atestines, which they hope to share soon with all future visitors to the City, shines strongly already in the words of its representatives:

How wonderful to see Tiepolo again after eight years in his natural location in the Cathedral! We take it as a sign of hope that can only fill our hearts of pure joy. There has been a great effort from many sides to bring the Pala back to Este as soon as possible. Now we can finally admire it in all its solemnity, says the mayor Roberta Gallana.

It is not possible to have a great party and inauguration due to the emergency we are experiencing – says the parish priest of the Duomo, Don Franco Rimano –,  but this will help us enter into the meaning of this painting that describes with dramatic images the suffering of the citizens of Este due to the plague, but also the trust in the presence of God who acts with his strength in favor of men and for the their salvation. Santa Tecla, patron saint of Este intercedes for the life of our city. On this Christmas, our patroness invites us not to lose trust in God who guides and supports us in this difficult situation.