Venus favors the bold.

Helsinki, -5 degrees


Yesterday in our biggest newspaper called Helsingin Sanomat, there was an article that caught my attention because it made me nostalgic. For those of you who have followed my blog for some time already, this might not be a surprise because you have to know by now that I'm a very nostalgic person. However, I don't think that I've ever written about this particular city that you probably recognized from the front page of my blog - my beloved Florence of course!

Törmäsin eilisen Hesarissa artikkeliin, joka sai minut nostalgiseksi. Ne teistä lukijoista, jotka olette blogiani seuranneet jo jonkin aikaa, tiedätte että tämä ei ole kovinkaan vaikeeta koska olen henkilönä hyvinkin nostalginen ja tykkään muistella menneitä aikoja. Halusin kuitenkin artikkelista innostuneena kirjoittaa tietystä kaupungista, jonka varmasti tunnistitte jo etusivun kuvastakin - rakkaasta Firenzestä tietenkin!

The article in Helsingin Sanomat discussed something I'd never heard about, the so called Florence syndrome. Apparently it's quite common that tourists visiting the city start to experience both psychical and physical symptomes when visiting Florence. Why? Because the art that they find in the city is so overwhelming! Especially women in the age of 25-40 experience these symptomes, and they usually come from the States, Japan or rest of Europe. Italian women do not experience anything similar because they are said to be immune to the sensation that Florence's art can cause.

Hesarin artikkeli käsitti ns. Firenzen syndroomaa, mystistä oireyhtymää joka on kaatanut turisteja Firenzen kauneuden edessä jo vuosisatoja! Jutun mukaan kaava on aina sama: ulkomaalainen turisti saapuu Firenzeen kokemaan kaupungin ylenpalttisia taide-elämyksiä, mutta kaiken kauneuden edessä hän saa psyykkisiä ja fyysisiä oireita. Syndroomasta kärsivät etenkin 25-40-vuotiaat naiset, joka ovat saapuneet Firenzeen USA:sta, Japanista ja muualta Euroopasta. Italialaisnaiset eivät kuulemma koe mitään samantyyppisiä oireita: ne ovat immuuneja italialaisen taiteen kauneudelle.

As I've told you in previous blog posts, I've lived a little over two years in Northern Italy, at three different occasions, mainly during the period 2005-2008. I've been to Florence many times (only for short 3-4 day long visits at a time though), and my last visit to Florence was back in 2008 - horrific, already five years ago. That is the main reason why I haven't written about my trip there. Since the article did have an impact on me, and it made me remember my trips to what I call my favorite city in Italy, I thought I would share some of my photos of my last trip there. I've never experienced quite the emotions that were described in the article, but Florence did leave a lifelong impression on me.

Kuten olen aikaisemmissa blogikirjoituksissa kertonut, olen asunut vähän yli kaksi vuotta Pohjois-Italiassa, kolmena eri ajanjaksoina, vuosina 2005-2008. Olen käynyt Firenzessä monta kertaa (aina n. 3-4 päivää kerrallaan) ja viimeisin matkani Firenzeen oli vuonna 2008. Kauhistuttavaa - jo viisi vuotta sitten. Koska aloitin tämän blogin kirjoittamisen juuri vuonna 2008, en ole tästä matkasta kirjoittanut mitään blogin puolella. Nyt kyseisen artikkelin lukeneena minusta kuitenkin tuntui siltä, että halusin jakaa Firenze-kokemuksiani teidän kanssa. En ehkä ole kokenut varsinaista Firenzen syndroomaa, jota kuvailtiin jutussa, mutta kaupunki on tehnyt elinikäisen vaikutuksen minuun. Firenze on ehdottomasti suosikkikaupunkini Italiassa!

While looking through these photos, taken in November 2008, please keep in mind that I was merely a 22-year-old Finnish girl on study exchange at that time. You might have trouble in recognizing me because I had pitch-dark hair. Having said this, I hope you can enjoy the photos and maybe imagine the sensation of awe that I experienced in Florence! Florence has so many beautiful features, in the form of art, architecture, atmosphere, people, style, food, history and nature!

Teidän katsellessa läpi näitä kuvia, jotka ovat otettu marraskuussa 2008, halusin muistuttaa että tuolloin olin nuori 22-vuotias suomalaistyttö joka oli vaihdossa Italiassa. En ehkä muistuta itseäni tänä päivänä koska tuolloin minulla oli mustat hiukset. Toivon kuitenkin, että pidätte kuvista ja ehkä ymmärrätte minkä vau-elämyksen itse koin Firenzessä. Firenzellä on niin monta kaunista ominaisuutta: taide, arkkitehtuuri, tunnelma, ihmiset, tyyli, ruoka, historia ja luonto!


What city in the world has made a lifelong impression on you?

Kaikista maailman kaupungeista, mikä on tehnyt elinikäisen vaikutuksen sinuun?


What's your opinion?

  1. There is nothing wrong with being nostalgic....it's nice to look back sometimes! I have never been here, but I always hear about how beautiful it is. Your pictures are absolutely fantastic!
    the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

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  2. I've never been to a city that majestic

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  3. I can't name one city or town but I sure can name an island :) and it was Crete of course. this island definitely stole my heart and my fiance loved it too. so we decided to go back and discover some more of it :) anyway, I love travel/trip posts and I enjoyed this one a lot too. Italy is definitely one of the countries I would love to visit. oh and I think your dark hair looks pretty cool!
    when it comes to this light show in Tallinn I did some research and found this page for you: http://lightbiennale.ee/en hope you find it interesting :)

    Maiken,
    Maikeni blogi - part of me

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    1. Of course!
      Thanks for the kind words concerning my dark hair in the photos.
      Thanks for the link, I'll have a look!

      xxx
      E

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  4. Such a beautiful city :D It's nice to see pictures again it reminds me of mine trip :D

    xoxo

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  5. I'd always like to visit Florence, and Tuscany in general. It's probably my favourite area in Italy outside the Dolomites. A friend of mine studies Architecture there and, after spending a period abroad, she said she could actually feel all the 'power' and beauty of the city when she returned. I don't know whether Italian women are immune to this kind of syndrome, but I experienced something close to that when I was in Helsinki, and Finland in general. There's some kind of atmosphere and magic that you can find nowhere else. Some places in Greece during my last high school's schooltrip, such as Delphi, have a very powerful atmosphere as well.

    Have a nice evening over there!

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    1. Aaw, that's so nice to know. I agree that Helsinki is magic :)

      xxx
      E

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  6. Kiva että tykkäsit Sisiliasta :)
    mä voisin myös suositella Formiaa, se on oikein kaunis rantakaupunki josta vain parin tunnin junamatka Rooman keskustaan, tykkäsin siitä ja Veronasta kovasti

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  7. I wanted to visit Florence some time ago and all was ready and I ended up not going... now, this is on my list for sure! I want to feel the symptoms, I love art! The pictures are amazing, they inspire me and motivate me to go there! I wouldn't have recognized you with black hair, but beautiful too! I think I was quite impressed by Paris and London. Or Loch Ness. I know it's all such a cliche, but I really like them. I can think of Athens too... well, now I want to go to Florence! denisesplanet com

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    1. Thank you for your comment Denise, Florence is definitely worth a visit. Yes, I know, I look completely different with dark hair.

      xxx
      E

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@elisabeth.rundlof