Swedish furniture company Ikea has built and donated a quake-proof school to a town in central Italy that was hit by earthquakes in 2016 and earlier this year.

The Alfredo Quaranta school, which is environmentally sustainable and resistant to tremors, is located in the small town of Crognaleto, in the region of Abruzzo.

An opening ceremony on 29 May was attended by Italian politicians, as well as representatives from regional authorities, Ikea and the Swedish embassy, the Local reported.

Ikea described the building as "sustainable, safe and integrated into the surrounding environment".

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Giuseppe D'Alonzo, the mayor of Crognaleto, described the new school as "a confidence boost" to a region which has suffered so much.

"I'm very happy about what has been achieved in a very short time: just 45 days to create a safe and avant-garde school," he added.

At least 60 students aged from six to 16 will be able to attend the school, which cost €500,000 ($559,410; £434,837) to build.

Part of the funding came from around 7,000 of Ikea's staff in Italy, who asked the company to use money put towards their Christmas gifts to help earthquake victims instead.

Crognaleto's two only schools had become inaccessible following quakes in August 2016 and January.

The Abruzzo region has been hit by powerful earthquakes in the past. At least 300 people died when a 6.3-magnitude quake hit the town of L' Aquila in Abruzzo in 2009.

More than 280 people died last August, when a powerful earthquake struck several towns in the central part of the peninsula, with Amatrice, in Lazio region, being the town worst affected.

Italy