Andrea Bocelli's livestreamed Easter concert has been the top trending video on YouTube since it streamed on Sunday night. 

People watching from home spoke on Twitter of how they had been moved to tears by the performance in the empty Duomo di Milano.

The 61-year-old opera singer was granted exclusive access to the landmark cathedral in Milan by Archpriest Monsignor Gianantonio Borgonovo and Mayor Giuseppe Sala.

The cathedral has been shuttered for several weeks as Italy grapples one of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus, with over 156,000 confirmed cases. 

Bocelli was accompanied only by organist Emanuele Vianelli for the stunning performance that started inside the cathedral to the front steps.

He sang a number of Christian songs, including Panis Angelicus, Ave Maria and the classic hymn Amazing Grace. 

Bocelli said ahead of the performance: 'On the day on which we celebrate the trust in a life that triumphs, I'm honoured and happy to answer "Sì" to the invitation of the City and the Duomo of Milan.

"I believe in the strength of praying together; I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone – whether they are believers or not – truly needs right now.

"Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug this wounded Earth's pulsing heart, this wonderful international forge that is reason for Italian pride.

"The generous, courageous, proactive Milan and the whole of Italy will be again, and very soon, a winning model, engine of a renaissance that we all hope for."