Stephen Travels

And he's ready to take you with him.


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Which Last Suppers Are First?

Last Supper, National Museum, Warsaw, PolandAs Easter approaches, Christianity’s most important holidays and events unfold at a breakneck pace: Jesus’ Condemnation, Crucifixion, Disposition, and Entombment (all represented in the Stations of the Cross), and Resurrection. It all starts with the Last Supper, when Jesus gathered his 12 Apostles for a final meal, called out Peter as His soon-to-be denier, and basically let Judas identify himself as His imminent betrayer. For centuries, this momentous meal has been captured in art, and I’ve seen it depicted in all kinds of media around the world. Read about the top five depictions of the Last Supper >


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Venetian All Stars at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco

The Miracle of Manna

The Miracle of Manna, circa 1577, is one of Tintoretto’s masterful oil paintings covering the ceiling.

A chance sighting of an advertisement for an upcoming concert in Venice prompted me to spontaneously purchase a ticket. Simple enough. But when the evening of the concert arrived, I ended up in one of the most lavish interiors in one of my favorite cities, surrounded by incomparable works of art by one of my favorite artists (a Venetian native), listening to my favorite piece of classical music (by another Venetian native) being performed by a Venetian ensemble. Such buona fortuna is a traveler’s coveted nirvana, a rarely achieved alignment of all the right stars that I still treasure. Read more about it >