WHAT IS IT?

Stendhal syndrome

If viewing art affects you, watch out. Last year, a man had a heart attack after looking at Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Stendhal syndrome, which is specific to Florence, is a disorder that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when a person is exposed to works of art.

It’s named after one of the earliest recorded cases, the French novelist Marie-henri Beyle aka Stendhal, who made himself sick on art in 1817.