The article examines a group of figure-decorated situlas datable to the 5th-4th century BC coming from Este and its surrounding area. More specifically it explores the possibility of identifying in the motifs and iconographic sequences not so much a simple juxtaposition of decorative and filler elements, but rather a narrative intent, behind which a local story might be discerned. Significantly, the narrative function of figured scenes on situlas was evident from the late 7th century BC onwards, when early examples of this artistic production first appeared: it is therefore possible that the communicative purpose of these decorated vessels was either maintained through the centuries, or consciously resumed between the 5th and 4th century BC, as the examples under examination seem to suggest. Analysis of the images has shown, in different artefacts, the recurrence and repetition of easily recognizable iconographic types: it is proposed, therefore, that the scenes illustrate a story whose heroic protagonist, having assumed the likeness of a winged creature, confronts a series of fantastic animals.