ARenaissancefrescohidden for 300 years has been rediscovered in Spain - thanks to nesting pigeons.

Art restorers working in Valencia's cathedralspottedthe birds flying through a hole in what turned out to be a false ceiling and were intrigued.

They stuck a digital camera in the gap and shot pictures that showed a well-preserved 15th century Italian fresco.

It is one of the earliest and most important examples of such Renaissance art in Spain, experts say.

The fresco, whichdepictsfour angels against a starry blue background, was painted by two Italians, Francesco Pagano and Paolo de San Leocadio, in the late 1400s.

They were commissioned by apapalenvoy, Rodrigo Borja, a Spaniard who went on to become Pope Alexander VI in 1492.

The fresco was covered up by aBaroqueceiling, believed to have been constructed around 1670, likely as a result of changing artistic tastes.

Normally, baroque artists covering up an existing fresco wouldscrape it off,art historian Fernando Lopez told reporters.

"This time they did not. They left anair pocket. That is the big surprise."

The president of Valencia's government, Francisco Camps, said the find was "one of the most important cultural discoveries in recent years" in Spain.

(Agencies)