Florence Italy Has A Medical Protocol For Tourists Who Physically Collapse From Exposure To Art

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]In 1817, the French author Stendhal visited the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence and stood in front of the frescoes on the ceiling and felt his heart begin to race and his legs give way beneath him and had to sit on a bench outside to recover. And doctors in Florence began documenting cases of tourists collapsing, hallucinating, and experiencing cardiac episodes specifically when exposed to overwhelmingly beautiful art and the condition is now named after him and the city of Florence has a dedicated protocol for treating tourists who are overcome by its own beauty.