Grado has had a long and rich history. It begins in Roman times when Grado was a fortified Roman castrum and the foreport of the nearby prosperous town of Aquileia. Numerous mosaics, inscriptions and other artifacts found on the island attest to Grado's Roman history. However, it is in the fifth and sixth centuries that Grado's achieves her renown. Grado became the seat of a Christian Patriarch, the head of many bishops, when, after the invasion of the Germanic Lombards in the sixth century, the Patriarch of Aquileia, like so many of his fellow citizens, fled the mainland for the island of Grado. Grado's two ancient churches, like much of the architecture of the Old Town, date to this period. In the later Middle Ages, Grado became increasingly oriented towards Venice, under whose protection and influence she became. By the 15th century, when Grado's title of Patriarch was finally abolished, Grado had returned to being a small, seaside fishing town, but with a proud and glorious past. With the fall of Venice in 1797, Grado passed briefly to the French and then to the Austrian Hapsburgs, who in the 19t century developed Grado's beaches and spa into a world-class resort. Today Grado is connected to the Italian mainland by a causeway and frequented by Italians and Central Europeans who visit Grado for its charming and historic Old Town, quaint fishing port, and celebrated beaches.

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