The Stendhal Syndrome: How to Avoid Sensory Overload in Florence
I’m not sure what to make of the Stendhal Syndrome. Dr. Graziella Magherini coined the term in 1979 after documenting over 100 cases of visitors to…
Brunelleschi's Hospital of the Innocents and San Lorenzo: the First Buildings of the Renaissance
Most people associate Brunelleschi with his dome for Florence’s cathedral, perhaps the most iconic structure of the Renaissance. Not many realize that, with just a…
The History of Sainte-Chapelle: Paris's Stained Glass Temple
Stepping into Paris’s Sainte-Chapelle is like entering a jewel. The upper level has almost no walls, just swathes of light in myriad colors washing through…
Paris's Saint-Denis and the Birth of Gothic Architecture
Too many visitors miss out on Saint-Denis simply because it’s not centrally located in Paris – or because it’s not as famous as Notre Dame. And…
Nimes and the Pont du Gard, where Ancient Rome Lives on
Anthony and Cleopatra may never have set foot in Nîmes, but the city’s abundance of crocodiles bears testament to their legacy. Veterans of Augustus’s victory in…
Uzès, the Perfect Base for Visiting the South of France
Anyone who doesn’t believe the French have perfected the art of living hasn’t been to Uzès. In the town’s quintessential tiny streets, sunlight plays across…
Barcelona's Hospital de Sant Pau: an Art Nouveau Landmark
Seeking medical care nearly always involves stress, and most facilities don’t help with their bland interiors. In fact, hospital décor has turned into a cliché:…
History and Myth in Sicily's Trapani and Erice
I’d bet good money that anyone who visits Trapani leaves with a lower heart rate. In this small port city on the northwestern coast of Sicily,…
Sicily's Favignana Island: Swimming in the Waters of Antiquity
Sicilian beaches make regular resorts seem bland. Consider Favignana, the largest of Sicily’s Egadi Islands. Here you can bask in the Cala Rossa, where the…