Alberto Rizzo, the first Italian in history selected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

The Sicilian artist is the only Italian ever selected in the 150-year history of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Copyist Program in New York City. By the end of the year, his hometown will host an exclusive exhibition of Caravaggesque works, including the copy certified by the Met and the reproduction of the stolen Nativity of Palermo (the FBI's most-wanted stolen artwork) 

A milestone redefining the boundaries of contemporary Italian art

The painter Alberto Rizzo, from Bagheria, is the first Italian artist officially selected for the prestigious Copyist Program of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In over 150 years of the program's history—the longest-running in the world—no other Italian national had ever achieved this recognition.

The New York achievement and the legacy of Caravaggio

In 2025, Rizzo worked for over two months within the halls of the Met, reproducing Caravaggio’s masterpiece “The Denial of Saint Peter” live. The resulting work was officially certified by the museum and bears the prestigious Met Museum stamp, attesting to its authenticity as an authorized copy and making it a unique piece in the international art scene.

Rizzo’s admission to the program was granted thanks to a portfolio of extraordinary mastery, featuring his reproduction of Caravaggio’s “Nativity” (the original stolen in 1969). A meticulous work that spanned three years, it captured the attention of one of Italy's most famous art critics, who first established contact with him in 2020.

The event: An exclusive exhibition in Bagheria

To seal this artistic bond between Sicily and New York, the exhibition explores the persistence of Caravaggio’s visual language in contemporary sensibility. The show will compare the direct study of Merisi’s masterpieces conducted overseas and in Italy with the reality of the Sicilian territory, offering the public the rigorous chiaroscuro technique that earned Rizzo access to the Metropolitan. For the first time, a private collection will be on public display, including the certified copy of “The Denial of Saint Peter” (Met Museum), the renowned reproduction of the “Nativity of Palermo,” and numerous previously unseen Caravaggiesque  works.