Description
The settlement of Grado probably originates from Roman times as part of the harbour system of Aquileia, Rome’s second city in Italy. Although the subject of debate among scholars, it seems that already in Imperial times, Grado had a colony of merchants and shipwrights, serving vessels that came from the sea and sailed up the Natisone river to the canal port of Aquileia. With the fall of Aquileia in the second half of the fourth century, a primitive fortress was constructed with docks in a series of terraces at the mouth of a river and/or canal, Gradus, which subsequently housed the people of Aquileia after its destruction by Attila’s Huns. In the sixth century, Grado became a patriarchal seat and later linked its destiny to that of its lagoon sister, Venice. Nevertheless, there was a relentless decline until the nineteenth century when it was revived thanks to the fashion for a holiday by the sea that accompanied the final years of the Habsburg Empire.
Vegetation
A species of evergreen oak, it is the main constituent of the Mediterranean maquis and locally can be found between the Timavo river and Miramare...
A tree species common along the rivers and coasts especially on sandy soils. Offering a fine form, it is used to line boulevards and decorate...
Like the white poplar, it is common along rivers and coasts, but is less tied to sandy soils. A hybrid variety is grown in poplar groves for the...
A shrub and small tree, it is resistant to drought and salty soils as mentioned by D’Annunzio in the poem “la pioggia nel...
A halophyte (salt-tolerant) species not present in salt marshes but on rocky coasts and harbour works such as jetties and embankments, even in...
A North American species common in cultivated areas and along rivers. Used for poles and firewood.
It appears in cultivated woods of pine and has spread widely in natural fashion on the Karst plateau, and is present also in the coastal pine...
Traditions
The lagoon area and surroundings are characterised by zones below mean sea level, which need the use of pumps to drain rainwater from the area...
The first to benefit from the therapeutic properties of Grado’s sun and sand were members of the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy; in 1892, when...
On the islets, the “mote”, which still bear the ancient names from Grado, the fishermen lived in huts of marsh reeds. Now few live...
This traditional cargo and fishing boat was used until the mid-twentieth century in the northern Adriatic, initially powered by sails and later by...
The sea routes to and from Grado and Aquileia were very busy at the time. This is testified to by an important discovery recovered on 25 September...
Both in the lagoon and in the sea in front of Grado many archaeological finds have need made linked to port activities associated with the...
The western lagoon (palù de soto) is the largest and with the most islands. It has always been criss-crossed by waterways linking Grado to...
Habitats
Areas normally above the water in a lagoon are called barene or salt marshes and are characterised by halophilic vegetation typical of...
These form the natural separation between lagoon and sea. Unlike the salt marshes, which are muddy or silty, the barrier islands are sandy and...
The areas regularly submerged by the high tide that are revealed when the sea retreats are called the tidal flats. In Friuli Venezia Giulia, these...
In the last century, vast areas of the lagoons and surrounding marshes were drained to obtain new agricultural, industrial and urban land. To...
The hunting of waterfowl often takes place alongside fishing and is exercised from the hides (botti) that are buried in small islets almost flush...
One of the largest and most vital underwater meadows of the Gulf lies in front of the mouths of the Isonzo. These are plants with ribbon-like...
Birds
19-21 cm, sexes similar. There is a grey variety and a rufous one. It is a small owl with ear tufts and a characteristic and insistent song. Present...
37-43 cm, sexes similar, light grey upperparts, white in the lower parts, with a black cap and a tuft on the head, the beak black with light-coloured...
140-160 cm, white, grey in juveniles, tubercle at the base of the beak, most evident in males. Present throughout the year, numerous at river mouths...
10-11.5 cm, sexes similar. A small tit with characteristic white patch on the nape. Present all year, it nests in the pinewoods of the Carso and...
77-94 cm, sexes similar. Like pelicans and boobies, they have the 4 fingers joined by a membrane to facilitate swimming. The species is present...
35-39 cm, sexes similar. In February, it gains the dark brown cap for the breeding season, which it then loses in July-August. Present throughout the...
37-40 cm, sexes similar. Compared to the black-headed gull, the beak is more massive and coral-red, it has a black head – during nesting – and...
52-58 cm, sexes similar. Grey upperparts, white lower parts. Present throughout the year and abundant, nesting in the lagoon, on the roofs of houses...
55-65 cm, sexes similar. White plumage with long feathers on the neck and back during the breeding season. Present throughout the year round, nesting...
50-60 cm. With marked dimorphism, this is the ancestor of the domestic duck. Present throughout the year, it is very adaptable, frequenting both...
17-19 cm, sexes similar. Blue upperparts, red underparts with large, dark beak dark and very short tail, which in flight makes it resemble a...
18 to 20.5 cm light brown uppers. white on the lower parts. The wings have a narrow light-coloured bar and are often blocked briefly in flight....
17-21 cm, sexes similar. Black upperparts, red throat and whitish belly. Present from March to April and from September to October, it nests in rural...
34-37 cm, sexes similar. Light grey upperparts and white underparts, with black cap and red beak. It is the classic tern, frequent from April to...
46-51 cm, sexes similar. Grey upper part, whitish beneath, while in its nuptial plumage it reveals obvious tufts on the head and below the eyes....
28-34 cm, sexes similar. Grey and off-white in winter, in March it has a black neck and a yellow tuft behind a red eye. Present from August to April,...
