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." The fresco, in the church of San Pietro alla Collegiata at Rocca di Cambio - the highest of the Abruzzo mountain villages, at 1,500 metres above sea level - appeared when the earthquake which struck the region nearly two weeks ago shook the church, which lies at the top of the village, and the altar came away from wall.