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Centuries-old Italian church undamaged despite tonnes of rocks falling on town

Italian church narrowly escapes rocky landslide.

A 420-year-old church in Italy's north narrowly avoided being crushed by a rock fall which shrouded the town in a thick dust cloud.

Mobile phone footage shows the belltower of the Santuario di Gallivaggio (Sanctuary of Gallivaggio), close to the Swiss border, being enveloped in dust after rocks fell from a high cliff.

Italian media reported 5,000 cubic metres of material fell, after the town received 60 millimetres of rain in 24 hours.

Roads to the town have reportedly been closed for more than a month and the town has been evacuated for several days.

Italian media said no-one was hurt in the rock slide.

The church marks the site where two young girls claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in 1492 and the current sanctuary was consecrated in 1598.

Italian press reported the church and the belltower didn't suffer any significant damage despite being hit by rocks, although authorities will continue to monitor the situation.

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