Mestre - History

History

According to legend, Mestre was founded by Mesthles, a companion of the hero Antenor, a fugitive from Troy who founded Padua. The true origins of the city are uncertain, although it is known that a Roman oppidum (fortress) existed here, though this was destroyed by Attila and probably rebuilt in the 10th century.

The first historical mention is from an Imperial diploma by Otto III, by which Rambald, count of Treviso, received land in the area named Mestre. In 1152 a papal bull by Pope Eugene III recognized the bishop of Treviso as lord of Mestre, citing the existence of the church of St. Lawrence, a castle and a port. In 1257 the bishops ceded it to Alberico da Romano, podestat of Treviso.

The port benefited from the economic growth of Venice, constituting its main connection to the Italian mainland. In 1274 a fire destroyed the castle, and the inhabitants moved to a location nearby, Castelnuovo (new Castle). No traces remain today of the old castle.

The Scaliger family from Verona conquered Mestre and Treviso in 1323. The Venetians, fearing the excessive Veronese power in the mainland, conquered on September 29, 1337. An artificial channel was built to facilitate the transport of goods.

The Venetian domination ended on July 16, 1797. In 1808 Mestre, following the French practice, constituted itself into a free commune. It remained such under the subsequent Austrian and Italian rules, receiving the title of city in 1923. Three years later, however, a Royal Decree annexed Mestre and some other neighbouring comuni (Chirignago, Zelarino and Favaro Veneto) to the comune of Venezia.

Since that moment there has been several political attempts to regain independence (including four referendums of the population in 1979, 1989, 1994 and 2003) but in every case the proposals of separating Mestre (and the Venetian mainland) from Venice were rejected by the major part of the population.

In the 1960s and 1970s Mestre experienced a huge demographic growth, spurred mainly by the construction of the nearby huge industrial district of Marghera.