Michelangelo signed fresco with self-portrait

A painstaking five-year restoration of a massive fresco painted by Michelangelo in the Vatican has revealed what experts believe is a self-portrait of the Renaissance genius.

Restorers claim that a bearded man wearing a blue turban in the Crucifixion of St Peter bears a striking resemblance to portraits and bronze busts of the artist.

The fresco shows the moment at which St Peter was raised on the cross by Roman soldiers, his face showing suffering but also defiance.

It is not the first time the renowned Italian master included his portrait in one of his works.