Firefighters pulled a dog alive from the rubble 35 hours after Italy's strongest earthquake in decades hit the country's central parts on Sunday.

Video released late Monday showed rescuers, guided by their own sniffer dog, digging into the rubble in the town of Norcia to free a dog that emerged covered in dust and looking dazed but unharmed.

The dog named "Ulisse" was taken under medical surveillance by Italy's National Animal Protection Institution (ENPA).

Ulisse was among the dozens of animals trapped in the rubble after the quake.

Firefighters also salvaged religious statues and paintings from churches that crumbled in Sunday's tremor.

A statue of a religious figure was wrapped in a protective casing and wheeled out into the street in the medieval town of Norcia, which was close to the epicenter of the quake which measured 6.6 according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

No deaths or critical injuries have been reported after the quake, Italy's strongest since one measuring 6.9 struck near Naples in 1980, killing 2,735 people.

Many people had left the affected areas after a smaller quake in August killed almost 300, and most of Norciatarget="_blank"'>Norcia's city walls were damaged and its churches badly hit, including the 13th century basilica of Saint Benedict, which collapsed, leaving just its facade standing.