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Experience Florence: do you know what Stendhal syndrome is?

The famous psychosomatic condition caused by the sublime beauty of art was born in Florence.

What is Stendhal Syndrome

Let's go step by step, and first of all understand what it is. Stendhal syndrome is a psychosomatic condition that occurs in the presence of wondrous works of art. It takes its name from Grenoble Marie-Henri Beyle, known as Stendhal, a famous French writer and a lover of both art and Italy. In 1817, Stendhal, like a good European aristocrat, embarked on his Grand Tour (from which today's tourism originates). This was a trip to the European continent to increase personal, political and artistic knowledge, it was a study trip with an undefined date of return, that often included Italy as a main destination.

In the same year, he published his travel diary Rome, Naples, and Florence in which he described the phenomenon he experienced: “I had reached that level of emotion where the celestial sensations given by the arts and passionate feelings meet. Leaving Santa Croce, my heart was racing, life had dried up for me, I was walking in fear of falling."

For this reason, the syndrome took its name from Stendhal. In his writings we find the first instances of descriptions about the malaise caused by beauty, in his case brought on by the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. The Florentine psychoanalyst Graziella Margherini attributed his name to the phenomenon more than a century later.

The Florence Syndrome - Graziella Margherini

In 1979, Dr. Marghirini wrote “Stendhal syndrome. The malaise of the traveler in front of the greatness of art ". The doctor studied a sample of more than 100 tourists who, exiting the Uffizi Gallery and especially after seeing works by Caravaggio or Michelangelo, were affected by acute episodes of sudden and short-lived suffering such as panic, dizziness, palpitations, crying, nausea, sweating, even hallucinations, depressive thoughts or euphoria. The subjects were mostly male, aged between 25 and 40 and with a good level of school education, traveling alone, from Western Europe or North America.

Stendhal, the study of Dr. Margherini, and the Renaissance wonder of Florence, create a connection between the Syndrome and the city. Nonetheless, it has been shown that the same phenomenon occurs in many other cities of the world, for example Paris or Jerusalem and depends not on the work of art itself, but on the sensitivity and empathy of the traveler, often alone, who find themselves in highly striking places that lead to a strong emotional impact. There is no psychopathological aspect to the syndrome!

So don’t worry, Stendhal Syndrome is very common and can manifest itself in many ways, whether it’s a simple and wonderful open-mouthed stare or with a slight romantic dizziness, like a surprise kiss: Florence, as you know, is a city that grants strong emotions and forms part of the heartbeat of the world.