If you want to spend a day at the sea at a place within reach of Sacile that provides both beach and culture, then Grado, which is just over one hundred kilometres from the Holiday Farmhouse, is the choice for you.

For hundreds of years it was a fishermen’s island and only at the end of the 19th century did it begin to become a summer tourist haunt, establishing itself as the queen of beaches in the Upper Adriatic area. Since 1936 it has been connected to the mainland by a swing bridge.

At the heart of the town lies the castrum, the 5th-century fortified area that for centuries protected the inhabitants. Here, narrow streets reminiscent of Venice’s ‘calli’ link minute mediaeval houses and small squares which are used by residents as a sort of open-air sitting room.

The hub of the area is the Campo dei Patriarchi, where a triad of magnificent Christian buildings stands. At the centre is the splendid basilica of Sant’Eufemia, the cathedral, dating back to 579, with valuable ancient columns originating from Aquileia and, on the altar, a 13th-century silver-gilt altarpiece. Next to it is the 5th-century baptistery, with an octagonal floor plan, and the basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which was rebuilt at the end of the 6th century, with part of the ancient floor mosaic still visible in the right-hand nave.

The beach at Grado is the only one in the Upper Adriatic area that is totally south-facing. Just a stone’s throw from the historic centre, the Spiaggia Principale stretches eastward as far as the eye can see.