The Campiello di Este is a small historic nucleus located outside the ancient Venetian walls, near Piazzetta San Martino. In the city's memory, it is remembered as the “Ghetto of the Jews,” as between 1665 and 1770 it housed the local Jewish community, confined to a closed neighborhood between the walls and the Bisatto canal following a decree from the Republic of Venice.
The area, characterized by popular housing, progressively developed between the 16th and 18th centuries, becoming an important transit and landing point along the canal. It still preserves significant historical evidence, such as the buildings overlooking the Bisatto, traces of ancient porticos, and the proximity to the church of San Michele and Palazzo Barbarigo.
After the disappearance of the Jewish community, probably during the Napoleonic era, the neighborhood was inhabited by poor families, so much so that it was remembered as the “ghetto of misery.” In 1976, the collapse of part of the historic buildings led to the demolition of much of the original complex.
Today, the Campiello represents a valuable testimony to Este's social, urban, and multicultural history, linked both to the Jewish presence and the evolution of the city's popular neighborhoods.
