Grado Lagoon

Nature in the Grado Lagoon

The tourist merits of the Grado Lagoon come from its being a huge nature oasis the biological significance of which has been repeatedly acknowledged. It would be nothing but a loss for tourists visiting Grado to decline the pleasure of exploring the lagoon, given the calm untroubled beauty of the place. At north, the lagoon neighbors on the Marano Lagoon, it too a place of particular naturalistic and tourist interest.

Indeed, the aesthetic thrill one can get from searching out the lagoon comes from the balanced contrast between the blue of the sea and the green of the vegetation winding in the marine environment. The place bristles with life, turning the calm embrace of land and sea into a spectacularly and yet discreetly murmuring habitat.

Pines, tamarisks, elms, poplar and junipers create the perfect shelter or set for a breathtakingly large variety of species of birds: gulls, ducks, sea swallows, gray herons. This is why bird watching is one of the most rewarding activities one can indulge in while taking a trip to the Grado Lagoon.

A place of special nature beauty and significance in the Grado Lagoon refers to the Nature Reserve of Valle Cavanata. It should definitely be explored by keen birdwatchers.

Traditions and tourism in the Grado Lagoon

However, it’s not just nature that tourists can contemplate while exploring the lagoon. Visitors can also admire the famed casoni, the traditional fishermen houses which have turned into a symbol of Grado and of its history. The small islands dotting the meandering relief of the lagoon still shelter the fishermen houses which do not confine to only contributing passively to the tourist rating of Grado by yielding a further objective for sightseeing, but they are an active part of tourist life in Grado. The casoni (reed roofed houses) are now a rural accommodation solution all visitors in search of less mainstream tourist experiences should take into consideration. This is why they have been taken into account by the so-called Alberghi Diffuso acting in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy as organization which manages the platform for unconventional accommodation, boosting the specificity of regional tourism.

Vacationers, if not curious and motivated enough to spend their nights at one of these casoni, should at least try the traditional gastronomic specialties prepared by the fishermen. The freshness and genuineness of the dishes is guaranteed, given fish and seafood represent the core around which much of both the life and the cuisine of the lagoon gravitates.

And while contemplating the nature set and marveling about the way the casoni blend in this scenery, without troubling the fragile ecosystem, tourists can also call at the island of Barbana, where they can visit the Sanctuary of Barbana.

The liveliness of the lagoon is further enhanced by the eventful calendar of the place. Indeed, plenty of events are held here each year, and the so-called Perdon de Barbana is but one of them. The Boat of Stories and the Graisana Open Regatta count too as highlights of the events held in the lagoon.

Name:

Grado Lagoon (Laguna di Grado)

Address:

Adriatic Sea, Grado, Gorizia, Italy

Website:

www.grado.info

Boat trips to the Grado Lagoon

There are plenty of companies which organize trips to the Grado Lagoon. They do not necessarily depart from Grado, but they do tick off the lagoon on their route to or from Lignano Sabbiadoro and Aquileia, for instance. Some of them organize trips to the lagoon departing from the island of Grado as such.

Laguna di Grado, Gorizia, Italy