Grado is the daughter of Aquileia, but the mother of Venice. Ever more powerful, Venice – the Serenissima – imported the cult of St. Mark from Grado, and over time stripped it of several treasures and the privilege of calling its bishop a patriarch.
Today Grado is a quiet town, that lives off fishing and its importance as a tourist destination.
Grade’s role as a climatic station has an unusual origin; the Royal Imperial Decree of 1892 established a bathing spa facility on the Isola del Sole (Island of the Sun, also called the Isola d’Oro, or Golden Island), where the town is located. The Austro-Hungarian nobility was already very familiar with these places, which still have a special charm today, to which the patrician houses in the Theresian style bear witness.
Grado was once reached only by boat. This is why nature and the land are a virtually
uncontaminated heritage that many people come from far away to see and admire: the entire area has maintained a wild and absolutely original appearance. The island is now connected to the mainland by a very long bridge (Ponte Matteotti) to Aquileia; even so, its island charm and fascination has remained unchanged.