American uni student sparks outrage with essay about 'hostile' Italians during exchange in Florence

An American university student has faced criticism over an essay she wrote about her experience studying in Florence, Italy, in which she described the locals as "hostile."

Stacia Datskovska's essay struck such a nerve that even Amanda Knox, who arguably had the most hostile experience of any exchange student ever, has weighed in.

Datskovska, a New York University journalism student, wrote about her time in Florence for the website Insider on March 9, and the piece was shared across social media.

READ MORE: Tom Cruise celebrates Michael Caine's milestone 90th birthday after mysteriously skipping the Oscars

Datskovska said she felt "constantly frustrated" by "hostile" locals, accusing them of being too focused on their social media profiles, leaving her alone in Florence when she could be home in New York living her normal life.

"I imagined fun potluck dinners with my roommates, summer flings with people who called me 'bella,' gelato that dripped down my fingers in the heat, and natural wine that paired effortlessly with good conversation and better prosciutto," she wrote.

Instead, she was left feeling disappointed and "grew to despise the sights, hated the people, and couldn't wait to get back home to my campus in New York."

READ MORE: Meghan not 'brave or strong enough' to face Prince Harry's family at the coronation, Paul Burrell says

Despite her romantic expectations, Datskovska said she was focused on her studies and struggled to keep up with her university work and the pressure to go out every weekend. At the same time she wrote that she "wanted to travel to learn more about myself."

One example she shared of the "hostile locals" reads as follows: "One time, two women were talking about me on the bus, looking at me up and down and scoffing. There were a couple of incidents of verbal confrontations."

One social media commenter accused Datskovska of suffering from "Emily in Paris Syndrome", a reference to the Netflix series.

"I would call this the Emily in Paris Syndrome, that thing where (especially) American girls arriving in Europe think for some obscure reason that they are becoming the new centre of gravity of our lives," one Italian local commented.

Another said: "An American citizen discovers that Italy is a real place with its problems and not just a film set where everything is as wonderful and perfect as in a film."

"Well, Florence is not the problem I would say," another person concluded.

Another commented: "She's moaning full stop. It just reads like a moany blog."

Amanda Knox, who was accused of murdering her roommate during her time studying in Italy and later acquitted, also chimed in on the piece, although she seemed sympathetic to Datskovska.

"Girl, what are you talking about? Studying abroad is awesome!" Knox joked.

Knox was exonerated for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in 2015, alongside her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito. Knox had been arrested and spent four years in prison before being freed.

She returned home only to be charged and cleared of the crime again.

Rudy Guede was eventually charged and convicted of the crime, being sentenced to 30 years in prison. Guede's sentence was reduced to 16 years and he was released in 2021.

Despite her denials and exoneration, some still believe Knox was involved in the crime, leaving her with no choice but to continue to defend herself against the claims.

Stacia Datskovska and Insider have been contacted for comment.