by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
In 1977, in the midst of a good deal of UFO activity in Italy, there was a multiple witness case that was investigated not only by a private UFO group, but by the Carabinieri (Italian national police) as well. The witnesses reported seeing lights, a cylindrical object, and a humanoid over a period of around three hours, during which they, the witnesses, made multiple approaches and retreats. Verga Maurizio wrote an article (page 20 of the pdf) covering the events headlined “Seven Scared Witnesses and a Humanoid” that was published in the Volume 25, Number 1, May 1979 Flying Saucer Review.
According to Maurizio, there were enough reports of UFO sightings, “especially at low altitude” and including close encounter reports to constitute “a wave.” During this, “there was one particularly strange, and important, incident” that had several witnesses, two of which were hypnotically regressed. The case was investigated by Umberto Telarico and Giorgio Russolillo of the Naples-base Federazione Uoflogica Regionale Campania. Most of the report is based on interviews with 24-year-old students Rocco Cirullo and Michele Giovanniello, who were the two initial witnesses and not the ones who were hypnotically regressed.
At 12:30 a.m., on August 31, 1977, Cirullo and Giovanniello were walking along the main road between Sturno and Frigento when they saw a red light between the bushes and trees along a small hill overlooking the road. They went over to an abandoned quarry on the edge of the hill and saw additional lights: a green light above the red light, and two white lights on the side. All the while, they heard a continuous noise “like that of a Morse code signal superimposed upon that of an out-of-tune signal from a radio station.”They moved to a different vantage point and were then able to see a humanoid figure wearing overalls that gave off a silver reflection in the moonlight. It was standing immobile between two trees and then suddenly took two paces towards the witnesses, who panicked and quickly ran off to the village of Castelluzzo.
In Castelluzzo, they met up with 26-year-old student Antonio Pascucci, teacher Amalio Capobianco, and turner Arturo D’Ambrosio. Cirullo and Giovanniello told the others about their encounter and D’ambrosio suggested they go back to the site in his car. It was agreed that they would and they got there at 1:00 a.m.
As the group left the car and made their way on foot, they soon heard the same noise and saw the figure. The group panicked and ran back to the car, but as nothing happened, they got curious and returned. The entity advanced towards them and they ran away again, got into the car, and drove back to the village to get a large flashlight.
Back in the village, they met 38-year-old singer Mario Sisto and 47-year-old Michele Riofoli. The group persuaded the two men to join them and all seven men got into the car and returned to the site.
They got there at around 1:30 a.m. and everyone got out of the car, which was left running. They got to within 25 yards of the entity and Capobianco aimed the flashlight at it. The entity, which had been in motion, stopped as if bewildered when the light hit it. It turned towards the source and two orange lights on its head at about eye level winked.
Once again, the group fled in a panic and determined to make a report to the Carabinieri, but on the way, the group (Maurizio calls them “the not so magnificent seven” at this point) decided they’d be in “serious trouble” if the Carabinieri investigated and found nothing, so they turned around and went back.
As they went around a turn close to the site, Pascucci pointed out that there was a bright illumination ahead of them. As they continued, they saw that the source was a cylindrical object on top of the hill above the abandoned quarry. It had alternating dark and bright vertical bands all around it and the top was a bright dome.
At around 2:00 a.m., the group took up their former positions and managed to remain without panicking for about an hour and a quarter. They again shone the flashlight on the entity, and it turned towards them. The orange-red lights on its head shone “in a synchronized fashion,” and the creature seemed to gesture towards them. During this time, the same sound was heard as before.
Some in the group thought the entity was inviting them to approach and others thought it was indicating the Moon as its place of origin. Suddenly, an intense beam of light came from its head which lit up the group and the surrounding area. Someone shouted, “It’s a laser… a laser!” and once again, the group ran away.
Back at the car, they realized the light hadn’t harmed them and they went back to make careful note of the entity’s characteristics. They estimated it was around 2 meters tall, with its body proportional to its height. Its head seemed to have been directly on its shoulders with no neck that could be seen. Some of the witnesses described a black box on its right arm and others described it having a metallic belt. Its lower limbs were hidden by the undergrowth, but it seemed to walk without bending its knees. It moved rigidly and never turned its back on the witnesses.
The men said they heard boulders rolling, and they attributed this to other entities they weren’t able to see. At 3:15 a.m., they returned to the village to find more people to go along and be witnesses, but they found no one and returned at 3:30 a.m. By this time the entity and the object were gone, and the men left and went to their homes.
The next morning, in a bar, Riefoli who told his friends and others of the events of the former night, and the story quickly got around Sturno. People sought out the other witnesses, and some went to the quarry. At the quarry, three large circular marks were found. The mayor, Dr. Alberto Forgione heard about the case, and he reported it to the Carabinieri at Frigento.
The Carabinieri investigated, saw the marks, interrogated the witnesses separately and together, had them sign depositions, and recommended they stay silent about what they’d seen “for the well-being of all.” When the men questioned this, they were told that this was on “superior orders.”
Investigators Telarico and Russolillo were told by Sturno locals that the witnesses were known to be, in Maurizio’s words, “serious and trustworthy,” and the mayor confirmed this at a press conference at the town hall on September 3, 1977. They interviewed a farmer and his family in a nearby village who said they saw a shooting star six days earlier that stopped, shot a red beam of light at the ground towards Sturno, withdrew it, and then shot off. They hadn’t heard about the events near the quarry and interpreted what they’d seen as an omen of evil.
Naples-based engineer Carmine Cangero examined the circular marks (which formed an isosceles triangle) and determined they had been caused by no less than 40 tons of pressure. Samples collected at the site were examined and determined to be typical of the local geology save for some traces of metal of insufficient quantity to be analyzed.
Mario Sisto and Michele Riefoli were hypnotized by separate doctors who declared there was no possibility that they weren’t telling the truth. Riefoli is said to have, without doubt, “literally fought a being who wasn’t human. Both men were hypnotized in Turin by a doctor at the request of the National Enquirer, and it was again declared that they were sincere and that there was no possibility of deceit.
Charles Lear is the author of The Flying Saucer Investigators, in its second edition on Amazon.com