LOCALIZE IT: The Paralympics continue through Sunday. Find athletes with ties to your community

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

The Winter Paralympics officially started on Friday, celebrating it’s 50th anniversary, with the opening ceremony in Verona, Italy.

Five decades after some 200 athletes competed in two sports at the inaugural 1976 Ornskoldsvik Winter Paralympics in Sweden, more than 600 athletes — a record number — are expected to participate across six sports at Milan Cortina through March 15.

They are competing across six sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling.

In the skiing sports — Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing — athletes compete in one of three categories: standing, sitting (on a sit-ski or monoski) or vision impaired (who race following a guide connected via radio).

Guides also receive medals.

Within each of these three categories skiers compete in different divisions depending on their functional ability. A results calculation system determines the factored time of each athlete, which allows athletes from different divisions to race against each other.

China staged the Paralympics four years ago in Beijing and set a medals record at a single Winter Games of 61. China is favored to dominate again.

The closing ceremony on March 15 is at the renovated Cortina Curling Stadium, a former venue of the 1956 Winter Olympics.

READ AND FOLLOW AP'S COVERAGE

Milan Cortina Paralympics guide: Winter Games celebrate 50 years and Russian flag returns

AP Newsroom: 2026 Winter Games

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Oksana Masters roars to Paralympic redemption at Milan Cortina with 11th gold medal 3/10

Iran says skier deeply disappointed at missing Paralympics because of war 3/10

Sweden’s Aaron Lindström to remain hospitalized after big crash at Milan Cortina Paralympics 3/10

US ‘rock star’ Paralympic skier wins silver for his late twin brother 3/9

US captain Erica McKee’s resolve puts women’s ice hockey on 2030 Paralympics track 3/9

US Paralympian Huckaby brings glitter and a snowboard with photos of her cat named ‘Mouse’ 3/9

Russian anthem rings out at Paralympics for first time in 12 years after Voronchikhina takes gold 3/9

Photo highlights from the Milan Cortina Winter Paralympics 3/9

What does it mean to win gold at the Paralympics? Ask snowboard great Hernandez and her daughter 3/8

US and British curlers overcome tree accident and tumor, join record number of women at Paralympics 3/8

FIND YOUR STATE: ATHLETES WITH TIES AROUND THE US

This spreadsheet includes Team USA Olympic and Paralympic athletes, their hometowns and where they attended school.

The District of Columbia and the following states have ties to hometowns of Team USA Paralympians:

ALASKA

ARIZONA

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

IDAHO

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

IOWA

MAINE

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSOURI

MONTANA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

NORTH DAKOTA

OHIO

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

TEXAS

UTAH

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON

WISCONSIN

WYOMING

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NEW ZEALAND

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE

Snowboarder Brenna Huckaby has ‘nothing left to prove’ as she chases more Paralympic gold in Cortina 3/7

American Oksana Masters in ‘shock’ after winning 20th Paralympic medal at Milan Cortina Games 3/7

Para alpine skiers Voronchikhina and Bugaev give Russia its first Paralympic medals in 12 years 3/7

Russian flag returns as Milan Cortina Winter Paralympics open amid Iran war and boycott 3/7

Iran won’t compete at Milan Cortina Paralympics as its only athlete can’t travel safely to Italy 3/6

Memories of twin inspire Paralympian Patrick Halgren to spread good vibes — one sticker at a time 3/6

A guide to the six sports at the Milan Cortina Winter Paralympics 3/6

IPC hails biggest Winter Paralympics ever and record female participation at Milan Cortina Games 3/5

Paralympians try to focus on Milan Cortina Games amid tensions over Iran war, return of Russian flag 3/5

Winter Paralympics 50th anniversary: Chinese dominance expected amid boycotts over Russian flag 3/5

Curling rocked again as 2 stones are stolen at the Milan Cortina Paralympics 3/4

Figure skaters with disabilities seek a place in the Paralympic spotlight 3/3

End the ban: France backs return of intellectually disabled athletes to Winter Paralympics 3/2

Tennis stars in Dubai and Paralympians face travel issues as Middle East war continues 3/2

Double duty: Masters and select group of Paralympians compete in both Summer and Winter Games 3/1

Turmoil-hit 2030 French Alps Olympics lose CEO Cyril Linette in leadership shake-up 2/25

Localize It is a resource produced regularly by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to the Local News Success team at localizeit@ap.org. View guides published in the last 30 days here.

Rene de Silvestro, of Italy, competes in the alpine skiing men's downhill sitting competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Silver medalist Audrey Pascual Seco, of Spain, from left, gold medalist Anna-Lena Forster, of Germany, and bronze medalist Liu Sitong, of China, pose on the podium of the alpine skiing women's downhill sitting competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Francesca Porcellato holds a Paralympic torch to light the Paralympic cauldron during the 2026 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Gold medalist Jeroen Kampschreur, right, and bronze medalist Niels de Langen, both of the Netherlands, pose after the alpine skiing men's alpine combined sitting at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Japan's Akari Fukunishi prepares prior to the Group A preliminary round hockey match between Japan and Canada at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

ROME (AP) — Italy has bought a rare portrait by baroque painter Caravaggio for 30 million euros (about $35 million), one of the largest state investments ever for a single artwork, the country’s Culture Ministry said Tuesday.

The portrait, painted around 1598 and attributed to Caravaggio in 1963, depicts Maffeo Barberini, a nobleman who later became Pope Urban VIII.

The painting was acquired from a private collection by the Italian state after over a year of negotiations and will now enter Rome’s Palazzo Barberini permanent collection.

“This is a work of exceptional importance,” Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement, noting the painting was a turning point in Caravaggio’s modern rediscovery and its purchase has helped strengthen the presence of his works in Italian public collections.

The new acquisition follows a recent one of Antonello da Messina’s “Ecce Homo,” and is part of Italy’s broader project to strengthen the national cultural heritage, making some art history masterpieces accessible to scholars and the public.

The “Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini” depicts the future pope in his 30s, dressed as a cleric of the Apostolic Chamber, at a crucial moment in his rise to power.

The work was made famous by art critic Roberto Longhi in his 1963 article “The True ‘Maffeo Barberini’ of Caravaggio,” and has since been widely recognized by critics as a work by Caravaggio, also known as Michelangelo Merisi.

Longhi called the painting “one of the founding moments of modern portraiture," emphasizing how Caravaggio ushered in a new psychological intensity.

Caravaggio revolutionized painting at the turn of the 17th century by introducing a dramatic use of light that became the cornerstone of the Baroque style. He is currently one of the most studied artists in the world, yet the number of his confirmed works remains extremely limited.

At Palazzo Barberini, the portrait will be displayed alongside Caravaggio’s other works — one of the world’s most important collections — in particular along another of Caravaggio’s masterpieces, “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” also purchased by the Italian state in 1971.

This image released by the Italian Culture Ministry on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, shows the oil-on-canvas painting "Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini" by Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (16th century). (Alessio Panunzi and Alberto Novelli/Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica, Ministero della Cultura via AP, HO)