Away from the cinematic world of Marvel, Spider-Man dropped in on Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday.

Mattia Villardita, 27, from northern Italy dressed in a full, skin-tight, red, black and blue costume of the comic book and film character – including head cover – sat in the VIP section of the audience in Vatican’s San Damaso Courtyard.

He sat quietly next to a priest dressed in black who appeared to be unperturbed by the colourful character with big white eyes in the next seat.

A real life superhero, Villardita, was given a place in the VIP section because of his work dressing up in superhero costumes and visiting sick children in hospitals.