When Doctors Choose Grado (for Over 50 Years)

Every year at the end of August the streets of Grado fill with white coats — off duty.
They stroll, chat, sip coffee by the harbor. Some are easy to spot: badges around their necks, notebooks in their bags, greeting each other like old friends.

They are the attendees of the International Medical Congress organized by the Collegium Medicinae Italo-Germanicum.
A tradition since 1969, when the first German-speaking doctors arrived on the island to update their knowledge, exchange ideas and — let’s be honest — catch their breath.
Grado was then, as it is now, the perfect place to do so: intimate, sunlit, quiet at the right times. Seminars were even held outdoors, in the Rose Garden, with birdsong as background music. Legend has it that their enthusiastic singing was the ironic inspiration for building the conference center.

Since then, generations of doctors have come and gone, and many still return, often with their families in tow. For some, it’s a tradition; for others, a welcome pause in the fast pace of the year. Between sessions, people gather for dinner, visit exhibitions, and share conversations — often about medicine, but not always.

Today, alongside the historic congress, there are also the Medical Days of the Austrian Chamber, now in their 34th edition. Two separate events, connected by a common thread: the choice to come here, to learn — but also just to be.
Grado continues to offer this kind of space. And it’s beautiful that it does so quietly, like a small ritual renewed year after year.