| Municipality of Grado
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Pop.: 8,691
Area: 115,07 sq. km, 2 m a.s.l.
Neighbourhoods: Barbana, Boscat, Fossalon, Primero
Town Hall: Piazza B. Marin, 4 - 34073 Grado
Phone.: 0431. 898111 Fax: 0431. 85212
www.comune.grado.go.it
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in front of the 6th-century
austere octagonal architecture
of the Baptistery, whose
accurately restored interior
shows some parts of the
original mosaic floor and a
few fittings, such as the
hexagonal font and the small
altar carrying Bishop
Probino's monogram
(569-571). Not far from the
Baptistery, the Basilica of
Santa Maria delle Grazie, a
most precious incunabulum
of early-Christian architecture
built between the 5th and 6th
centuries. Inside it displays
floor mosaics laid on two
different levels, fittings
(plutei, presbytery and
Cathedra) as well as precious
late medieval sculptures
(fragments of two ciboria,
datable to the first two
decades of the 9th century).
Not far from the church, a
slab with lines in the Grado
dialect marks the house
where Biagio Marin was
born (1891-1985), one of the
greatest 20th-century Italian
poets. The foundations of
another Early-Christian
basilica (end of 4th centuryearly
6th century) preceded by
an octagonal baptistery
(whose plan is marked on the
pavement), and
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mosaic
fragments were brought to
light in the large square in
front of the Town Hall
(popularly known as Corte).
From here, a walk along the
nearby Lungomare Nazario
Sauro, built on the
19th-century Austrian dam,
affords a splendid view of
the Gulf of Trieste. Among
various period buildings, the
modern architecture of the
National Museum of
Underwater Archaeology
(that is now at an advanced
stage in mounting) stands
out, where the hull and cargo
of a Roman cargo ship of
the 2nd century AD and
other exhibits found
in the lagoon will be displayed. The seaside walk
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connects the two main beaches in
Grado, the western one (Costa Azzurra), a
public, popular beach, and the eastern one
(where an entry fee must be paid), the Beach
par excellence, one of the most elegant and
best equipped beaches on the Adriatic. Just
behind the beach, in the green framework of
the Parco delle Rose, there are marine
thermal baths and the imposing Palazzo
Regionale dei Congressi (1979), the venue of
important congress and cultural
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events. In the
magical natural frame of the lagoon, the
Marian Sanctuary of Barbana, on the islet
by the same name, is worth a visit. Rebuilt in
the past century, though very old
(6th century), the sanctuary houses several
works of art and hundreds of touching votive
offerings. On the first Sunday in July, the
Sanctuary is the destination of a procession
on boats (the Perdon) that has been taking
place continuously since 1237.
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| PROVINCE OF GORIZIA
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Among the smallest in Italy, Gorizia
province is a unique casket of natural,
historical and cultural beauty, benefiting
from mild climate most
of the year, a place
where, to the
north, the hilly
landscape
of the
Collio area - frequently
terraced and world
renown for its winesopens
to Europe through
the valleys of the Isonzo
and Vipacco Rivers. The
central-eastern part of the
province is of karst...go
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