The site was occupied in very early times, as archaeology begun in the late 19th century showed.
[3][2] Inscriptions show that the Venetic language asserted its existence even after Ateste came into the hands of the Romans.
[2] After the battle of Actium, Augustus settled veterans from several of his legions in this territory, Ateste being thenceforth spoken of as a colony (colonia).
It appears to have furnished many recruits, especially for the cohortes urbanae, an urban police force created by Augustus.
Ateste appears but little in history, though its importance is vouched for by numerous inscriptions, the majority of which belong to the early Empire.