(ANSA) - TIRANA - A paralympic gold medal stolen from its rightful owner, archer Oscar De Pellegrin, in December has turned up in a flea market in Albania, it emerged on Friday.

The medal, won by De Pellegrin at the London Paralympics in 2012, was spotted by renowned Albanian collector Artan Lame and handed over to the Italian ambassador in Tirana.

"I was on one of my weekly visits to the flea market and I noticed it on the ground among other things. It immediately caught my eye, but I didn't make a stir, and in the end I managed to buy it for a few dozen euros," Lame said. On returning home the collector examined the medal and discovered that it belonged to De Pellegrin. "I even went through his photos and found one in which he was holding the empty case," Lame explained.

At that point, he contacted Italian ambassador Alberto Cutillo. Lame said he had chosen to make the story known in order to dispel the negative stereotypes about his country.

"Albania is often portrayed in ungenerous terms and (I wanted) to show that there is also a good country, with people who want to do good deeds," he explained. "And I think the country has earned another friend, De Pellegrin". The medal will be returned to the athlete at an official ceremony on Italian national day on June 2. (ANSA).