Venerable area in state capital (7)
I believe the answer is:
augusta
'state capital' is the definition.
(Augusta is an example)
'venerable area' is the wordplay.
'venerable' becomes 'august' ('august' can be a synonym of 'venerable').
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'august'+'a'='AUGUSTA'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for augusta that I've seen before include "23 [LOVELACE] 's first name" , "Algernon's aunt (Importance of Being Earnest)" , "Female name; capital of state of Maine" , "Lady Bracknell" , "US city" .)