You did not know what it was until you read an article that talked about the psychosomatic condition brought on by exposure to Florence’s embarrassment of artistic riches. Something similar happened to you when you first arrived at The Wine & Country Club. We refer to Stendhal syndrome and the wonderful sensations associated with it.
Stendhal syndrome takes its name from the French writer Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by the pen-name Stendhal, who, in 1817, wrote of his trip to the Tuscan capital: “I was in a sort of ecstasy from the idea of being in Florence… I was seized with a fierce palpitation of the heart… the well-spring of life was dried up within me, and I walked in constant fear of falling to the ground.”
The syndrome was clinically described as a psychiatric disorder in 1989 by Graziella Magherini, a psychiatrist at Florence’s Santa Maria Nuova Hospital. Magherini observed 106 patients, all of them tourists, who experienced dizziness, palpitations, hallucinations and depersonalisation upon viewing works of art such as the sculptures of Michelangelo and the paintings of Botticelli. They were suffering “panic attacks, caused by the psychological impact of a great masterpiece, and that of travelling,” Magherini said in 2019.
Stendhal syndrome may be related to Jerusalem syndrome, which sees visitors to that holy city break down in psychotic religious or messianic delusions; and Paris syndrome, which causes tourists to come down with acute psychiatric symptoms upon finding that the French capital does not match their unrealistically high expectations.
You now know that it is also possible to experience it in Ronda (Malaga), on the wine estates of a residential scheme known as The Wine & Country Club.
Living Under Stendhal Syndrome’s Influence
In its minimum essence, Stendhal syndrome comes down to experiencing a sense of awe in the face of an incomprehensible beauty. It is about feeling stunned by the imposing landscape, in a context that also includes aromas, sounds and the sense of touch making contact with the fauna and flora.
The Wine & Country Club provides the perfect context where all the necessary stimuli to experience Stendhal syndrome come together to offer an experience second to none.
Feeling mesmerised by the majesty of The Wine & Country Club’s landscape comes as no surprise. Nestled in the Serrania de Ronda, the Club’s natural surroundings are like taking delight in Florence’s wonderful paintings. Only here you can commune with nature in person, and not through a painting.
The feelings are not only evoked through sight. Smell, touch and taste are also vehicles to bring you closer to the nirvana offered by your wine estate. Your basement cellar (as in La Caldera), your private vineyard, your organic vegetable garden, the local hacking routes, outings to Sierra de Grazalema … everything adds up and everything is transformed into the unique experience that goes by the name of The Wine & Country Club.
But do not take our word for it, come visit The Wine & Country Club and see for yourself!