Tag Archives: Stendhal syndrome

Stendhal syndrome

Stendhal syndrome or Florence syndrome, is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to a particularly beautiful piece of art or a large amount of art in a single place. Can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world

It is named after the famous 19th century French author Stendhal (pseudonym of Henri-Marie Beyle), who described his experience with the phenomenon during his 1817 visit to Florence, Italy in his book “Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio”.