Grado (Venetian: Gravo; Friulian: Grau; Slovene: Gradež; Latin: Gradus[3]) is a town and comune (municipality) of 8,064 residents[4] in the Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on an island and adjacent peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste.

[6] Once mainly a fishing centre, today it is a popular tourist destination, known commonly as L'Isola del Sole ("The Island of the Sun").

In Roman times the city, known as ad Aquae Gradatae, was the first port for ships entering the Natissa (Natisone), headed upstream to Aquileia.

During the late years of the Western Roman Empire many people fled from Aquileia to Grado in order to find a safer place, more protected from the invasions coming from the east.

Subsequently, there was a tourist and urban development and in 1905 a road was built in the middle of the lagoon to connect the two parts of the territory.

The main attractions are its two large and sandy beaches, as well as its well-preserved pedestrian-only centre, in which many shops, bars, and restaurants are located.