ANSA photographer Massimo Percossi shot a bloodied, dusty Sister Marjana Lleshi, 35, shortly after she was rescued from a retirement home in the Lazio mountain village of Amatrice, which was largely flattened by the quake and where over 200 are confirmed dead.
The young nun had been trapped in her room by falling rubble, and hid under the bed when her calls for help went unanswered.
Believing her death was imminent, she began texting all of her friends to say goodbye.
She said she did not write to her family in fear this would cause them too much pain.
After she was rescued, she began texting everyone again to say she was safe, and that's when the iconic photo was taken.
ANSA
