Narrator: Back in prehistoric times, walls were the first available surface on which artists could lastingly record their visions.

In southern France, Stone Age man painted the animal world of his surroundings onto the rock surface.

The wall paintings of the Chauvet cave in Ardèche are considered to be humanity's first masterpiece.

In Pompeii, among the foothills of Vesuvius, the era of ancient Rome remained solidified under the volcano's rock and ashes.

Frescoes found beneath the ruins bear witness to life in Pompeii and to the mastery of an art form at its peak.

♪♪ In the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, paintings reveal developments in art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

The cycle of frescoes there, depicting the life of Saint Francis, are the work of artistic pioneer, the painter Giotto.

The frescoes in these three locations invite us to discover the lives and myths of those that produced them.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 36,000 years ago, Stone Age man left traces of his presence in the Ardèche region of southern France.

Stunning wall paintings that totally challenged our vision of prehistoric art, the paintings bear witness to a level of mastery that had not previously been attributed to those living in such a remote period of humanity.

The cave is a recent discovery.

In 1994, three speleologists were exploring the rocks along the banks of the Ardèche when they noticed a slight breeze coming through the rock wall.

They dug out a passage to discover what was to become known as the Chauvet Cave.

[ Speaking French ] Narrator: Researchers understood the unique importance of the place, and access to the cave was immediately sealed off in order to preserve it.

To allow the public access to the works of the cave, a team of scientists scanned it in 3-D using laser beams.

They then reconstituted the cave to the nearest millimeter using the 16 million data points they obtained.

From this data, an extremely faithful replica, named the Pont d'Arc cave, was created in proximity to the original cave.

Here, artists have created identical reproductions of the entire set of wall paintings.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Man: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Man: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: Tens of thousands of years later, the Roman aristocrats of antiquity settled in the Gulf of Naples in southern Italy.

In Pompeii, in the foothills of Vesuvius -- a volcano still in activity today -- the Romans built sumptuously decorated villas.

In the year 79 A.D., the volcano began to spew out ash and hot gas.

Some inhabitants decided to flee the city, while those who remained made a fatal error.

A cloud of gas descended upon them, killing them instantly.

♪♪ Man: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ Osanna: [ Speaking Italian ] Narrator: Ever since it was discovered in the 18th century, and to the present day, the site at Pompeii has become a goldmine for archaeologists.

Antique frescoes of exceptional quality lie at the foot of the imposing volcano.

The wall paintings made Pompeii famous.

Their subject matter draws on all aspects of Roman life, representing daily rituals, the major mythological legends, trompe l'oeil, playing with architecture, still lifes, and erotic scenes.

One of the finest frescoes is located just a few kilometers from the center of Pompeii.

At the time it was built, the sumptuously decorated Villa Oplontis stretched all the way down to the sea.

The frescoes here are not solely decorative.

They're also a reflection of the owner's status.

Woman: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: The villa's columns, masks, and decorative objects were all readily recognizable to the Romans, who were familiar with references to ancient Greece.

Bragantini: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: It wasn't until over a thousand years later, at the dawn of the Renaissance, that fresco art underwent a revival.

From that point on, it constituted a veritable revolution in Italy, the cradle of painting.

♪♪ In Assisi, in central Italy, a vast basilica was built in the 13th century following the death of Saint Francis.

Still today the basilica is a pilgrimage hot spot, attracting visitors from all over the world who come to visit Saint Francis's tomb.

Saint Francis is one of the most popular Christian saints.

His unparalleled destiny is represented here in a set of outstanding frescoes.

Man: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ Narrator: Saint Francis was the son of a wealthy tradesman and lived a life of luxury before taking a vow of poverty and devoting his life to his faith.

He founded the order of the Franciscans, who lead a life of humility and simplicity.

With his message of love for all creation, Saint Francis sparked a revival in the church, channeling people's need for a church that was more open and less focused on its own hierarchy.

The sheer size of the basilica is testimony to the importance of Saint Francis to the faithful.

It's built on two levels -- an upper basilica and a lower basilica, which was erected above the saint's tomb and is also entirely decorated by frescoes.

To decorate the vast surface areas of these two churches, Leading artists of their time were brought in, among them the painter Cimabue and his pupil Giotto.

♪♪ Man: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ Narrator: Recurring earthquakes in the region take their toll on the frescoes.

To restore them, a team of experts works all year round using a highly specialized technique.

Man: [ Speaking Italian ] Narrator: When painting the frescoes, artists had to proceed in stages.

Thanks to subtle differences in color, we can still make out today the clearly defined surfaces that were painted in the space of one day, called giornata.

[ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: Taking a leap back in time of nearly 36,000 years, we plunge into the world of prehistoric man.

Hidden among the gorges of the Ardèche, the wall paintings in the Chauvet cave depict a veritable treasure trail.

Bardisa: [ Speaking French ] Narrator: The deepest room, the most secret part of the cave, is located 200 meters inside the rock.

It features a panel of lions displayed in all their splendor.

Man: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Woman: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ Man: [ Speaking French ] [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: The Roman villas in Pompeii suffered extensive damage when Vesuvius erupted.

Roofs collapsed, bringing part of the walls crashing down with them.

Piecing the frescoes back together is a tremendous task and one that has mobilized teams of restorers over several generations.

♪♪ Woman: [ Speaking Italian ] [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: Frescoes feature predominantly in both public and private areas of the city.

Their recurrent motifs and colors have entered the history of art under the term "Pompeian style."

De Caro: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Osanna: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: When Giotto arrived in Assisi at the end of the 13th century, he brought with him a revolutionary way of painting based on observing the world around him.

One of the finest works depicts a group of Poor Clare sisters mourning Saint Francis's body in front of a realistic reproduction of the San Damiano Chapel.

♪♪ Other monuments around the city also feature predominantly in the frescoes.

[ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Woman: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: Giotto placed human figures at the center of his works.

By paying close attention to their expressions and gestures, he gave each character their own identity.

Man: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: The first known artists in history lived in a world in which animals greatly outnumbered humans.

In the Ardèche Valley, prehistoric man and animals were inseparably linked.

Bardisa: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Fritz: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ [ Speaking French ] Fritz: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Bardisa: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: Motifs from mythology are a recurrent theme in the frescoes of Pompeii.

The Romans embraced the legends of the heroes of ancient Greece.

Woman: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: One villa in Pompeii is particularly intriguing to archaeologists, who refer to it as the Villa of the Mysteries.

It houses a set of frescoes, the meaning of which is still being researched today.

♪♪ ♪♪ Osanna: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Pouzadoux: [ Speaking French ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: Whereas the Greek myths resonated with the Romans of Pompeii, Giotto's and his contemporaries lives were firmly based on the Christian faith.

In Assisi, Giotto created works that were highly accessible to worshipers, in the spirit of simplicity of Saint Francis's message.

♪♪ Fusetti: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ Narrator: The cycle of frescoes tells a universal story.

The panels show Saint Francis as a protector of all living beings.

The most famous fresco of them all, depicting him preaching to the birds, has become part of our collective image of the saint.

♪♪ Tomei: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Romano: [ Speaking Italian ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: Whether dating back to the Stone Age, antiquity, or the late Middle Ages, frescoes have helped us make sense of the world around us.

The paintings of the Chauvet cave reveal the spiritual approach of those that produced them.

The artistic expression of Homo sapiens touches us deeply to this day.

Preserved under the ashes of Vesuvius for centuries, the frescoes of Pompeii bear testimony to great mastery.

Their mythological motifs, painted to perfection, have lost nothing of their power to evoke.

♪♪ Giotto is the uncontested master of the al fresco art form that marked the beginning of the Renaissance.

His frescoes bear witness to a revival in religious painting, which gave a human face to the sacred.

Resisting the vagaries of time, all paintings plunge us into the past, connecting us closely to the tales of our ancestors.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪