The aftermath of the Abruzzo earthquake has witnessed the miraculous survival of people beneath collapsed buildings - and even of a small black dog which scampered out of the ruins of a house on Easter Sunday after nearly a week under the debris.

But residents of Rocca di Cambio, a village high in the Gran Sasso mountains of Abruzzo 25 kilometres from L’Aquila, are celebrating the emergence of a more longstanding survivor: a long-lost 11th Century fresco depicting the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus.

“This is wonderful news at a time of so much destruction and sorrow,” Antonio Pace, the mayor of Rocca di Cambio, told The Times. “The appearance of the Madonna and Child is a sign of hope. Nothing short of a miracle.”