By Charles Lear
There was a period from the early 1950s into the 1960s when more than a few people (more than one of which were named, George) came forward saying that they’d been in direct communication with humanoid beings who were not of this earth. They are referred to as, “The Contactees” and they were individuals who claimed they were chosen by our space friends to deliver a message to humankind. In other words, contact with single individuals was the norm. Then, in 2007, a man in Italy, engineer and university professor, Stefano Breccia, came out with a story of alien interaction with a large group of Italians that began in 1956 and continued until 1978. This became known as, “The Friendship Case” and, in spite of its dubious nature, the case attracted a lot of press and people came forward to support the story.
According to Breccia, his friend, writer, theologian and psychologist, Bruno Sammaciccia, asked him to listen to a story he’d been keeping secret and to write it down. As Sammaciccia died in 2003, this could be said to have been the confession of a dying man. Breccia said that he spent a month at his friend’s house and granted his wish. According to Breccia, in 1956, Sammaciccia and two friends were visiting the Pia Fortress overlooking Ascoli Piceno, when they were approached by two beings that appeared human but one was a little more than one meter tall, and the other was almost three meters tall. Speaking perfect Italian, the two beings told them they were extraterrestrials and that they were here to help humankind. The men were later taken to an underground base to meet others like them, all of varying heights. They revealed that there were representatives from six different civilizations from our galaxy and others, that there had been an e.t. presence for over two centuries and that there were over 200 of them in underground and undersea bases throughout the world. These bases were made with “a particular mechanism” which would compress the surrounding earth as a space opened up. When they were done using the base, “all you had to do is flip a switch” (apologies if this is too technical) and the earth would return to normal. One base under the Adriatic Sea was described as being so big, it had its own climate. The e.t.s were concerned that humans were destroying the planet, which was precious as a place that produced life, and they were also concerned about atomic weapons. They described love as a powerful source of energy and promoted moral, as opposed to technological development.
There were further meetings and the number of people let in on the secret increased. The e.t.s were given the designation, W-56, but they referred to themselves as, “Akrij” which, in Sanskrit means, “wise one.” They were also referred to as, “the friends” which gave the case its name. They began to ask for help in supplying themselves with fresh fruit, metals and minerals. Truck deliveries to specified locations were arranged and were unloaded by teleportation. In order keep the friends’ presence a secret, the truck drivers were taken to nearby cafes until the process was completed.
The friends communicated through radios and televisions and arranged times when they would allow their ships to be filmed in flight. They also caused slips of paper to materialize in mid-air with written answers to questions. They revealed the existence of an enemy race that was materialistic, unethical and immoral and feared that humans were becoming like them. The enemies were known as, “The Contraries” and were also called, “CTR.” In 1978 the W-56 announced that their enemies had gotten the upper hand and that they needed to leave our planet. Their exodus was said to be the cause of the many UFO sightings reported over Italy that year.
According to a documentary, Breccia published some papers about the case in 2007, which encouraged others to come forward and provide him with testimony. Breccia came out with a book in 2009 called, “Mass Contacts” that described the case in its third chapter titled, “The History of Amicizia.” Amicizia means “friendship” in Italian. The other two chapters were titled, “The Beginnings” and the “UMMO Affair”, the latter one being about a Spanish case that involved a sighting followed by letters allegedly written by a group of aliens called, “Ummites.”
After Breccia is introduced, the first people featured in the documentary are Gaspare DeLama and his wife who are said to be among the few surviving witnesses. DeLama is described as having been “a fan” of UFOs since the late 1940s. The narrator goes on to say that DeLama, along with his wife and mother, sought better understanding. His wife, Mirella Bergamini, says that they achieved their “goal, which was to get to know them.” DeLama had photos he’d taken of a flying saucer over Milan, published in the second issue of Delmenica Del Corriere, in April, 1962. The article was titled, “The Theories of a Flying Saucer Over Milan.” Other witnesses are said to have been Sammaciccia and journalist, Bruno Ghibaudi, who had written “numerous” articles on UFOs. The pictures and article were tied in with the friendship case only after Breccia came out with the story.
Film footage of flying saucers is shown and the saucers move about as one would expect of an object being waved about at the end of a string. Breccia states that he has a file with over 200 witnesses “from all walks of life” and that there are others worldwide. One more witness to give testimony is Paolo Di Girolamo who is described as having been, “always a UFOlogy enthusiast.” Finally, DeLama mentions the importance in his life of pioneer Italian researcher, Alberto Perego. As he thumbs through one of Perego’s books from the 1960’s and looks at the pictures therein, the narrator states that the pictures were taken by members of the friendship partnership although they are not credited in the book.
The entire story is supported in the documentary by the testimony, exclusively, of long time UFO enthusiasts, suspect photos and film footage of flying saucers. By now, the reader may have picked up this writer’s skepticism but many people believed this story when it came out and many continue to do so. What’s interesting is that a contactee story with such classic cold war era messages to humankind would find a believing audience in the 21st century. Breccia gave a series of lectures while working on a follow up book, “50 Years of Amicizia” that was published posthumously in 2013 after he died in 2012. Breccia and his story were particularly embraced by Michael Salla, founder of the Exopolitics Institute. American researcher, Paola Harris investigated the story further and interviewed DeLama. Pictures have been included to aid readers in coming to their own conclusions.