Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi - star of the landmark television series "I, Claudius" - this documentary explores art and culture around the Bay of Naples before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The bay was then the most fashionable destination for vacationing Romans. Julius Caesar, emperors, and senators were among those who owned sumptuous villas along its shores. Artists flocked to the region to create frescoes, sculpture, and luxurious objects in gold, silver, and glass for villa owners as well as residents of Pompeii and other towns in the shadow of Vesuvius. The film concludes with the story of the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum from the 18th century onward.

In 19th-century Italy, Giacomo Leopardi channels his debilitating illness and isolation into poetry.

In the fall of 1987, Philippe Haas accompanied the sculptor Richard Long to the Algerian Sahara and ...

The story is set at the beginning of the 20th century in Sicily. Salvatore, a very poor farmer, and ...

Short costume picture on the infamous Roman Emperor.

'Pedro', Liora Spilk's debut feature, paints a humorous and emotional portrait of Pedro Friedeberg, ...

William Friedkin attends an exorcism with Father Gabriele Amorth, as he treats an Italian woman name...

Director Philip Haas and artist David Hockney invite you to join them on a magical journey through C...

Cyprien Tokoudagba is from the city of Abomey in the Benin Republic of West Africa, where he paints ...

Johan van der Keuken went against the grain in 1980: from Amsterdam (on April 30 with the coronation...

It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform...

Two thousand years ago, at the dawn of the first century, the ancient world was ruled by Rome. Throu...

A 17th-century nun becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice. But it is Benedett...

Presents life in 18th century Spain as the painter Francisco de Goya showed it to us.

Arturo Urbiola, independent singer/songwriter, talks about the influence music has had on his life, ...

Documentary about the Rembrandt Association. In the 19th century, a lot of Dutch art disappeared abr...

Going to the very heart of the Bible's most challenging Book, this one hour documentary decodes the ...

Siddharta and Fabrizio, one of them nine years old, the other one 65, are the core of a community th...

The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childh...

When Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbri...