History

“Gradus” which means port of call, coastal outlet, was the ancient port of call of Aquileia and after the Huns’ invasion of 452 a. D. the inhabitants of Aquileia escaped to the lagoon’ s islands, giving birth to Grado’ s historical centre. Soon Grado became a Patriarchate and its power lasted almost three centuries beginning to decrease as Venice gained more and more importance.
Very remarkable from a cultural point of view are the historical centre, the Basilica of Santa Eufemia (579 a. D.) and Santa Maria delle Grazie (5th century), recently restored, and the sanctuary of Madonna di Barbana (6th century). Only 10 km. from Grado there is Aquileia, which was founded in 181 b. C. by the Romans.

Aquileia conserves many traces of its important past: the rests of the forum, the river harbour, the interesting archaeological museum and the impressive early Christian mosaics of the Basilica.
Since a couple of years it was declared historical and archaeological heritage by Unesco.