Caravaggio meets Onorio Longhi, Italian architect and poet, and a bit of a bohemian. Longhi takes him to meet his friend Cesare D'Arpino, who is looking for assistants in his workshop.

This documentary is about Guido Crepax, the creator of a famous fumetto (comic strip) that came out in 1965. The main characters are Philip Rembrandt, an art critic, and Valentina Rosselli, a photojournalist.

After a night of drinking and brawling, Michele is finishing a painting outside the workshop. Baron Cenci shows up and likes what he sees on the easel. The Baron's daughter is in the carriage and exchanges a few words with Michele.

Crepax started out with one protagonist, Philip Rembrandt, but gradually phased him out, along with his superpowers. Valentina then took over as the protagonist. Crepax talks about Milan in the sixties.

Michele gives one of his works to the girl in the carriage. She is Beatrice Cenci and is chained to her seat. Later, Michele is seriously wounded while loading a piece of art onto a horse-drawn cart.

In 1963 Crepax got his start in the world of comic books and two years later created his famous character, Valentina. The comic strip first appeared in the anthology comic book, "linus," founded by Giovanni Gandini, who had known Crepax as a kid.

Caravaggio manages to sell one of his paintings and decides to leave d'Arpino's workshop. His friend finds him a room, and he starts working on a painting, now known as"Boy bitten by a lizard".

Filmmakers Tinto Brass and Giuseppe Tornatore comment on how some elements of expressivity are shared between comic strips and the cinema.

Prosperino tries to sell Michele's painting of the "boy bitten by a lizard," and attempts to be professional. The three friends get their hopes up, but soon have to face reality. Michele and Mario quickly lose their patience and become belligerent.

Crepax's Valentina was an intriguing character because she openly reflected the sexual freedom of the late sixties and was attractive to both men and women. It was very "in" to be seen walking around with an issue of "Linus," an Italian comics magazine published in Italy beginning in 1965.

Michele and Mario are having a hard time. But Michele can't bring himself to paint things he doesn't believe in, even at the risk of going hungry.

Valentina's success coincided with the beginnings of feminist movements in Italy. She depicted a woman who was strong and independent, who could do anything a man could do, a departure from the stereotype of the Italian housewife.

Word seems to be getting around that Merisi is a very talented painter. In bed with malaria, Michele himself is the last one to hear about it.

Among the pages of the comic strip, family members find familiar objects, drawings, and personal information from their everyday life. Although Valentina was a figment of Crepax's imagination, she was also an integral part of his family.

Young Michele thus enters into the service of Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, man of culture and art connoisseur. All he has to do is what he does best: paint.