The UFO Landing Encounter Of Rosa Lotti: Alien Contact In The Cennina Woods

The encounter of Rosa Lotti is one of the most intriguing on record, and one of the most famous in Italian history. That the incident took place in one of the busiest UFO waves in history in 1954 perhaps only adds more interest to researchers who continue to look back to the case today almost three-quarters of a century later.

Not only did Rosa witness a landed UFO in the countryside of Cennina but she encountered the apparent occupants of the otherworldly craft. What’s more, many details she offered would match the many, many reports that would come from the public around the world over the coming decades.

The incident was investigated and documented at the time, and subject to several reinvestigations in the years that followed. What’s more, it is a case with several corroborating witnesses whose respective accounts match each other in terms of location and the object witnessed. And these witnesses appear to be largely very credible, despite the seemingly outlandish details of the incident.

What is perhaps also of interest is that the incident happened during one of the busiest years in UFO history and what is referred to in UFO circles as the 1954 Wave. This surge of sightings saw reports of strange objects overhead and even strange creatures from all over the planet, with Italy seeing more than its fair share of increased sightings.

The encounter of Rosa Lotti remains an important one in UFO history, and certainly one of the most intriguing.

“A Huge Spindle Fixed Vertically To The Ground!”

At around 6:30 am on the 1^st November 1954 40-year-old Rosa Lotti – described in reports as a “peasant woman” and mother of four children – was on her way from the farm where she lived to the cemetery, a journey she had purposely gotten up early to make. ^[1] It was a rare journey into the town for Rosa, even so, she knew the footpaths well as she made her way along them, wearing one of her best dresses and carrying her shoes and stockings to avoid them becoming dirtied, along with a bunch of flowers.

It was as she came to a clearing along the path that she suddenly stopped in shock. There in front of her was a strange, bizarre object. According to the report, it appeared like a “huge spindle fixed vertically to the ground”. She would later describe it as resembling a “sort of double cone” that also appeared like “two bells joined together at their bases. What’s more it appeared to be “covered with leather”. The strange object was approximately seven feet high and between three and four feet wide.

She would continue that the “outside of it shone as though it was of very polished light metal” and on the lower side was an “open glass door”. Even more amazing, when she peered inside this opening, she could clearly see two small seats “like those used by children”.

It was as she was examining the strange object that two strange figures that were “almost like men but of the size of children” appeared from around the side of it. They appeared friendly from the look on their faces as they headed toward her. She would estimate they were around three feet in height and wore one-piece gray overalls that even covered the feet. Each of them also wore something similar to a doublet but with several items that appeared “like shining stars” on them, as well as a small grey cloak-like item on the backs. Both had on a helmet of sorts although their faces were unobscured and visible and looked human.

A Sudden Change Of Dynamics

As they approached Rosa felt no sense of being in danger. In fact, from the way they acted she believed they were trying to appear as friendly as possible. They spoke in a language unknown to Rosa, although she recalled it sounded similar, to her, to Chinese.

The closer they got the more details she could make out. She noted how their upper lips had a slight curl to them which left their front teeth exposed. What’s more, the teeth appeared to have been “filed down”. It also appeared as though their ears were beneath leather discs that each wore.

Suddenly, despite their apparent attempts to appear friendly, Rosa had a sudden surge of fear run through her. This increased significantly when one of them grabbed the bunch of flowers and one of her stockings from her hand. Despite her increasing fear, she began reaching for her possessions in protest. Then, the figure picked out several of the flowers and then passed the rest back to her.

She watched in amazement as the figure stood and examined the flowers closely for several moments before wrapping the stocking around them and placing them inside the nearby craft. After doing this the strange beings reached inside the object and each took out a white, circular “package” and began to turn back toward Rosa once more.

By this point, however, Rosa had turned from the scene and was running as fast as she could in order to escape the bizarre scene. According to the report, she turned around as she was running and the craft and the two strange figures had completely vanished. However, writing in the book Alien Meetings, Brad Steiger stated that this last detail was one that had been manufactured by the press reports at the time, ^[2] and that when she had turned around the object and the two figures were still there.

There were also several other points that appeared to have been inaccurately reported at the time, something we will return to shortly.

A Witness Who Was “Absolutely Free Of Foolish Fancifulness Or Empty Reveries!”

Rosa continued running until she reached the town, she had set out for earlier that morning. By the time she arrived she was gasping for breath, a little disheveled, and clearly shaken and scared. She had passed a local man who she knew, Beppe Gostinelli who was hunting in the woodland, but she was so distraught she had not mentioned anything to him. It was only when a friend, Annita Valenti, noticed how disturbed she looked that she eventually told of what had happened.

She would eventually report what she had seen to a local police officer and the priest of the church she had been intending on visiting. Several others also heard her tell the tale, and as Steiger highlights, all would state that she was “absolutely free of any sort of foolish fancifulness or empty reveries”. In short, she was a credible witness whose account should be treated seriously.

In fact, many of those who heard the account from Rose immediately set out along the footpath that led into the town in an attempt to find the location of the event. While the object nor the two small figures were no longer there, they did find clear evidence that something strange had taken place. According to Conti’s review of the case in Flying Saucer Review, there was a “great hole in the ground” in the same location as Rosa said the object had stood. This was also confirmed by the local police officer. However, by this time the sheer number of townsfolk who had walked through and over the area out of curiosity made it impossible for any kind of mold to be taken.

Unknown (At The Time) Corroborating Witnesses

The case is perhaps one of the more credible on record despite its bizarre nature. However, as UFO investigators continued to research and investigate the case over the years that followed, further corroborating witnesses were found.

For example, on the same morning and around the same time as the incident began to unfold, 25-year-old Romualdo Berti – a stonemason – claimed to have seen a “luminous rocket” that was “like a cigar” and had flames coming out of the tail rise of the Cennina Woods. He claimed it went straight up at first before leveling off a little and heading toward the horizon. The object had a bluish tint to it and he recalled that it appeared to be completely silent.

An anonymous workman also witnessed the object shortly before while hunting in the woods, only this witness saw it land in the clearing where Rosa would encounter it a short time later. Another witness was Andrea Livi, who was driving his flower van along the road between Levane and Bucine around the same time when he saw a “great reddish cone-shaped thing” moving through the sky.

Luigi Dini also claimed that he and his daughter witnessed a “strange thing” from the terrace of their home. He claimed that the object appeared like a meteor at first as it descended but it then began to slow down purposely the closer to the ground it got. It eventually disappeared from sight.

Two further witnesses were discovered the following year during a subsequent investigation into the incident. They were brothers, aged six and nine at the time of the incident, and according to a piece of writing the younger boy (Ampelino Torzini) had done in school, they had witnessed the encounter of Rosa Lotti.

He claimed that they had been out early that morning in order to attend to their family’s pigs. As they were doing so they witnessed Rosa (“a lady”) who was “chatting with the men”. He also recalled seeing the object which he at first thought was a large animal. While Ampelino was curious at the sight, the older boy ran back to tell their father. By the time they had arrived back at the scene, however, the craft, Rosa, and the men had gone. They did, though, witness the hole in the ground where the object had stood.

A Return Visit?

It also appears that the same object might have returned to the location at just before midnight on the same day. And what’s more, there were multiple witnesses to this incident. According to the report in Flying Saucer Review, two farmers (Giuliano and Tosca Colcelli) were awakened on the night in question to shouts coming from outside of their home. When they went to investigate they could see a man on a stopped motorcycle (identified as Marcello Postocchi di Giovanni) looking up at an oval-shaped object. The pair had just caught sight of it before it vanished behind some nearby mountains.

The motorcyclist, however, had gotten a much better (and longer) look at the object. He claimed that it appeared to have been at a low altitude – so low that the bluish-white light from it blinded him temporarily. It also appeared to move in a very purposeful horizontal direction and remained perfectly silent throughout. After several moments the object had vanished from sight. They weren’t sure, however, whether it had physically disappeared or if the lights had gone out meaning they could no longer see it.

There was also another witness to this sighting but unfortunately, press reports at the time did not name them. They were quoted as saying, however, that the object resembles a “flying spindle”, which is remarkably similar to the description of the landed object given by Rosa Lotti.

Multiple people would see the same object around the same time from Cennina. All of the witnesses described the same basic object that had extremely bright lights and was flying at a relatively low altitude. Some reports even state the object stopped and hovered for several moments as if it was about to land.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing accounts comes from Ottorino Santarelli who witnessed the strange object after having spent the evening with two friends, Otello Preriasi and Angiolino Brogi at the Pietraviva recreational club. It was as they were leaving the club that they noticed a strange, blue-colored object overhead. He watched it for several moments until it stopped suddenly and hovered. Then, it began to descend toward the ground before coming to a stop again near a nearby hill.

The three men cautiously but quickly made their way toward the hill in order to get a better look. Before they could reach it, however, it began to rise into the air once more. It headed toward a nearby mountain before changing direction and heading out into the distance. As it moved the light changed color from blue to red. The three men also recalled that the object remained completely silent throughout the sighting.

Many Sightings Across Italy Around The Same Time

There are also several other sightings of strange objects over Italy that are very much worth our examination here – several of which happened on the very same day of 1^st November. ^[3]

At 3:30 pm, for example, in Modigliana, Emilia-Romagna, a local farmer – Adelmo Monti – witnessed a strange object that he would describe as a “dark spot” hovering just above the ground approximately 1500 feet from him. He could see what appeared to be cylinders around the outside of the object. Of more concern, however, was the small figure he could see just outside the apparent craft.

UFO researcher, Albert Rosales, has an intriguing account in his research files that occurred late that day in Modigilano, Veneto, Treviso. According to the account, a fisherman named as F. Seenza, was casting his nets from his fishing boat on the Dese River on what was a particularly foggy night. As he was doing so, he noticed a green glow coming through the fog. He at first believed another boat was approaching and began shouting in order to let his presence be known.

However, when there was no reply Seenza noticed that the light appeared to not be moving and was set in the same place. He made his way toward it and was shocked to see a “mushroom-shaped object” on the ground of the riverbank. More shocking, though, were the several strange figures that he could clearly see in the green glow that came from the landed craft. Seenza shouted out once more in an effort to communicate with them but there was no reply once more.

The next thing he realized the object was shooting off into the sky sending several silver beams of light out as it did so. It moved overhead in several directions for a moment before finally disappearing into the distance.

At around 6 pm the following evening, this time in Cremona, two students, Pietro Alberini and Pericle Sacchi had a particularly bizarre encounter while hunting. They claimed to have witnessed a dwarf-like creature that appeared to have some kind of breathing apparatus on its back. The two students initially approached the strange creature which caused it to produce a “bluish cloud” that it “wrapped” itself in. Now spooked, the pair turned and ran.

Sightings Continue

Several days later, at 11 am on 6^th November in Rome, a local resident, Alberto Perego, witnessed approximately 100 white orb-like objects move over the city during a two-hour span. They would fly over in formations of two, three, four, seven, and 12, sometimes in a V-formation and others in straight lines. They would also perform several sharp turns as they went.

The following day in Sardinia, a motorcyclist observed a bizarre disc-shaped object appear overhead before landing at the roadside. Given the speed he was going he swerved his motorcycle, fearing he was going to collide with it. In doing so, however, he came off the bike and skidded to the ground around 150 feet away from the bizarre object.

He noticed a taxi pull up a little further down the road, the driver clearly aware of the strange craft at the side of the road. The witnesses would later recall that they could also hear a “soft whirring” noise that appeared to come from the object. It appeared to be made from shiny, silvery metal and was approximately 50 feet across. After watching it for several moments the object rose into the air and took off into the distance.

At around 10:30 am the next day in Monza a truly bizarre incident is documented in Jacques Vallee’s Passport to Magonia when an apparent UFO landed inside a local stadium. Barriers were erected but over 100 people were said to have made their way over them in order to see the alleged spaceship from another world.

According to reports, the object sat on three legs and had a domed surface from which came an extremely bright white light. Even more intriguing, two small entities were seen near the ship, each wearing transparent helmets and some kind of white and gray suit. Some witnesses claimed to have heard the two figures speaking in “guttural” tones. After several moments of the crowd entering the stadium, the two figures reentered the craft and took off into the air, vanishing into the distance moments later.

Many Humanoid Encounters With Similar Details

According to the research files of Albert Rosales, on the evening of 11^th November, a journalist named in the report as Tino and another man, Raffaele Favara, were walking along the street after having been to the cinema. As they walked they noticed a strange blue-green light that seemed to come from inside a local football field. They made their way to the gate in order to investigate and were shocked to see a triangular object resting on “wheel-like floppy disks on each tip” on the field.

As the two men watched, a flashing silver light showed several figures engaged in various activities around the object. Uncertain what to do they decided to run and get more witnesses. However, no sooner had they turned than the triangle began to take off into the air. It headed out toward the sea with increasing speed.

At 8 am the following morning in Arqua Polesine, a local fisherman reported a transparent glove descending out of the sky before “diving” into the canal. Several hours later, a similar object was witnessed at the Vatican’s Castel Grandoldo mountain residence.

Three tractor drivers reported seeing a “bright, red, illuminous UFO” while they were working in a farmer’s field in the 14^th November in Forli. Uncertain of what it was or what to do, the three men left their vehicles and ran from the scene. When they returned a short time later, the bizarre object was gone. Incidentally, the driver’s later noticed that when the UFO approached, the two tractors with internal combustion engines failed while the diesel engine continued to run. Whether this was a coincidence or not is unknown.

Several hours later at just before 8 pm in Isola, another landing took place in a farmer’s field. This time a cigar-shaped object appeared out of the early evening sky and after settling on the ground three dwarf-sized humanoids emerged from the craft, each wearing a “metallic diving suit”. They spoke with each other in a language the witness – Mr. Lorenzini – couldn’t understand.

At this point, the witness believed the strange creatures were intending to steal his rabbits so he aimed his rifle ready to fire at them. However, it suddenly became increasingly “heavy” while at the same time he had suddenly become paralyzed. By the time the strange creatures and the craft were gone, the rabbits had indeed been taken.

Many Cases Of Landed Objects

Two nights later, at around 11:30 pm on Catania, Sicily, four local men (Salvatore Rapisardi, Antonio Espada, Gaetano Nicolosi and Cavallaio Angel) reported yet another apparent near-landing incident. On the night in question, according to Albert Rosales’ report, the men were near the cemetery when a disc-shaped object descended in front of them, hovering around 150 feet from the ground. They would describe the object as being metallic and around 20 feet across. They also noticed there was a “strange sound” coming from the object.

Then, a sudden flash of light came from the object and a hatch opened. As the witnesses looked on in amazement, a strange humanoid creature looked out at them for several seconds before the hatch closed and the object rose into the air once more, disappearing into the sky with alarming speed.

It is perhaps worth our time examining another case from the files of Albert Rosales that occurred a week later in Colcerasa, Macerata. At 5 pm on the day in question, two 12-year-old boys (referred to only as MG and PT) were heading back to their flock of sheep when they suddenly heard the frantic barks of their dog. They also noticed that the sheep had moved from where they had been only moments ago.

MG also reported seeing three “dark-colored animal-like creatures” around a foot in height and with “flat-topped heads” that were moving around near the bushes of the field. They each had on shiny suits that the witnesses believed were made of something similar to plastic.

The boys noticed a barrel-like object hovering nearby which the creatures eventually entered. It then rose into the air before a “large fireball” exploded from the back of it sending it rapidly into the sky. As it disappeared the boys turned and ran back home to report what they had seen.

Two nights later on the evening of 25^th November in Sicily, two 12-year-old boys – named G. Marziano and P. Santucci – witnessed a very similar incident unfold. On the night in question, the two boys were near some fields when they noticed a strange object resting on the ground. They hid in some bushes and watched in amazement as three strange figures with large heads and gray skin moved near the object. Each of the entities was around one foot tall. The creatures entered the spherical object, which was at a distance of around 30 feet away, and then watched the object rise into the air with a “hissing sound” and take off into the distance.

A Gradual Decrease

Although the sightings slowed somewhat, reports still came in from around Italy until the end of the year. For example, on the evening of 4^th December in Caselle di Nogara, a waiter returning home noticed a strange circular object hovering over a field near the roadside. The object was around 150 feet away from him with a blue glow to it and a bright red light. They then witnessed a “tall figure” emerge from the object and begin walking around it. The witness, who had his rifle with him, took aim at the figure and fired. Almost immediately after he had done so, a strong wind appeared out of nowhere and the craft and figure were gone.

Four nights later, early on the morning of 8^th December on Caserta, a farmer named Giovanni Aquilante – who was 100 years old – left his home in order to go about his chores, something he did daily. However, on this day he failed to return resulting in two of his sons and another family member went out searching for him. After failing to locate Giovanni they set out for home. However, as they came to a low wall, they witnessed two strange-looking entities with bizarre “phosphorescent eyes”. After initially stopping dead in their tracks one of the men approached the wall. To his shock, the strange entities had seemingly vanished into thin air.

They returned home, perplexed and even more worried about their missing father than before. Then, the account took another strange twist. At 6 am the following morning, their father walked through the door. For the first day of his return, he was largely unresponsive and in shock. To the confusion of his sons, they couldn’t understand how he had remained completely dry given that it had rained heavily over the previous two days. Eventually, though, he spoke of what had happened.

According to Giovanni, as he was walking past the old railroad bridge, two “dwarf-like creatures” appeared out of nowhere. He would describe them as having suits that were “all the colors of the rainbow”, which we might deduce meant they were either shiny and reflecting the sun, or were adorned with flashing colored buttons. These two small creatures reached for his hand and “lifted him skyward”.

The next thing he realized he was standing outside his house with the two dwarves standing with him as if they had returned him home. They then disappeared and he walked into the house, confused and frightened at what had happened to him. His sons would state that their father remained in such a frightened state for the rest of his life that “they might come back” to get him.

The Slow Burn Before

There were also several sightings that occurred in the weeks leading up to the Rosa Lotti encounter that are worthy of our time here. On the 5^th October, for example, in Roverbello a local fisherman was shocked when a strange humanoid dressed in red approached him. He managed to call out to his wife which resulted in the bizarre figure retreating and disappearing.

Ten days later on 15^th October several other incidents unfolded. In Boaria, a local farmer witnessed a bizarre object fly over his home as he was leading his cows to drink. As the object moved across the sky the cows ran in all directions in a panic. The farmer, himself as spooked as his cattle ran back to the farmhouse and promptly fainted from the shock.

There were, however, several other witnesses to the bizarre event. They would recall that the object was egg-shaped and dark-colored and appeared to have blue and yellow flames around it. They also recalled that it moved and an altitude of around 50 feet and that they could feel an intense heat around them that they believed came from the object. By the time the object had disappeared several of the haystacks had caught fire and some of the cattle even showed burn-related injuries.

A short time later a bizarre object was seen moving just above the trees in Luino. According to the report, two of these trees caught fire shortly after the object passed over them. Although the time isn’t certain, on the same day in Po-di-Gnocca, several farmers reported seeing a disc-shaped object land for several moments before taking off vertically. When they examined the location where the craft had been, they discovered a hole in the ground that was at least 20 feet across. Even more intriguing, some of the nearby trees had burn marks on them.

The following day, in Quasso, a local bus driver witnessed two top-shaped objects moving just above the trees. Even more amazing, a humanoid figure was seen “beneath” the object (it is not clear if this humanoid was literally under the object or in a compartment on the underside). On the same day in Siena, at around midnight, several local residents witnessed a strange object land in a field. It remained still for several moments before taking off again and disappearing into the night sky at a considerable pace.

At just after 7 pm in Naples, several local witnesses reported seeing a glowing orb moving through the skies overhead before coming to a stop and then hovering near to the ground. After several moments it ascended once again and disappeared into the distance.

On the same evening, in Cape Massulo, an artist named Raffael Castelle witnessed a disc land on the property of his neighbor, Curzio Malaparte. He estimated the craft was at least 15 feet across. After watching it for several moments the witness got up and began to approach the craft. The closer he got the more he was certain it wasn’t a helicopter. When he saw the strange four figures near the object, he stopped his approach. He remained where he was and watched the scene for close to 30 minutes before the strange figures entered the craft and a strange whirring sound filled the air. It then rose into the air with “blue sparks” flying into the air.

The Humanoid Encounter Of Renzo Pugina

At just before midnight on 18^th October in Como, a 37-year-old salesman, Renzo Pugina, was returning home after a night at the movies. ^[4] As he brought his car to a stop outside his home, he noticed a “soft glow” lighting up the area around which he originally believed to be from the moon. He began his way up the stairs leading to his apartment. As he neared the top of them, he noticed a strange-looking creature at the top of them. Whatever this figure was, he estimated that it was a little over four feet tall seemed to be “surrounded by a “soft, warm light, and appeared to be wearing armor”. It also had a helmet on its head that contained a transparent visor. It wore a strange metallic-like pair of coveralls that appeared to have “metallic scales” on it.

He also noticed several pipes or tubes come from the creature’s back. When he followed the pipes they appeared to connect to a luminous disc that was approximately the same size as a bicycle wheel.

As discreetly as he could he continued to climb up the stairs. However, after he had taken several more steps, the creature began to turn around to face him. The witness recalled how the figure turned his head “as if manipulated by a mechanism”. The next thing he knew, the creature was pointing a flashlight-like device directly at him. As soon as the light “hit” him he realized he was immediately paralyzed. He could still see, though. And noticed several more details of the creature’s face. He recalled, for example, that the creature’s forehead was almost non-existent while its eyes were much larger than normal and almond-shaped. He also described the color of its skin as being olive, “as if it had been splashed with motor oil”.

Within a few moments, Pugina regained the movement in his limbs and began moving toward the creature, shouting out the word “Mars” as he did so (in reference to the creature being an alien from Mars). Whether this offensive display worked or not, the creature had a “grimaced” look on its face and rose into the air flew away into the cover of the nearby trees. As it did so a soft buzzing sound was heard, as if the flight was made possible by some kind of engine or device. Within moments, the creature had disappeared from sight. Pugina estimated the entire episode lasted no longer than several minutes.

He ran inside his apartment, waking his wife due to the state he was in. According to press reports, he was in such shock that he remained in bed for several days after the incident. Also of interest was an apparent unknown substance found outside the building where the creature had been seen. It was said to be “odorless, dry, and greaseless”.

More Cases With Matching Details

The day after Pugina’s sighting, in Tuscany, a local resident, Bruno Senesi, claimed to have seen “two shining objects” descend out of the sky and land in a nearby field. He watched in amazement as several strange creatures emerged from the object. However, that amazement turned to terror as the creatures began immediately in his direction. They continued for some distance before he finally lost them for good. He was seen a short time later by a member of the public in a severe state of distress and taken to a local hospital.

On the same evening in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, at around 7:20 pm, Filippo Corridoni was near the Isonzo River when he noticed what appeared to be a “half-empty balloon” on the ground in a nearby field. A moment later he noticed a disc-shaped object that appeared to be resting on some kind of frame. He estimated the craft was approximately 30 feet across.

The top part of the object had a black dome while there were several portholes around the underside with light coming from them. Then, without warning, the lights went out and the object rose into the air, vertically and with great speed. It spun around as it did so with the balloon-like object taken along with it.

Around three hours later, at around 10:30 pm in Marche, two local residents – Paolo Cutizi and Guilio Emery – were in a park when they noticed a strange light appear overhead. The object was distinctly disc-shaped and hovered while giving “small violet flashes”. They would further estimate that it was around 20 feet across. Then, a ladder appeared from the side of the object and two robot-like beings – each around four feet tall – began to descend toward the ground. They surveyed their surroundings for a few moments before climbing back into the craft which then flew away into the distance.

Bizarre Close-Up Encounters

On the morning of 21^st October in Melito, a local man was walking in a field at around 8 am when he heard a sudden rustling noise nearby. As he looked around trying to locate the source of the sound, he noticed a bizarre aerial vehicle descend and land a short distance from him. He remained where he was for several moments before deciding to get a little closer to the object. When he did so, he noticed how it gave “bronze-green rays of light”. Of more concern, though, was the humanoid pilot that had emerged from the craft.

At this point, the witness realized that he couldn’t move as the pilot was heading toward him. Only the sudden sound of a dark barking somewhere nearby caused the humanoid to halt his advance and head back inside the craft. It then rose into the air and took off, disappearing into the morning sky.

According to the files of Albert Rosales, a similar incident occurred at around 9 am on the morning of 23^rd October in Vesuviano, when two people traveling in a car noticed a strange object resting at the roadside. They pulled their car to the side of the road, exited the vehicle, and began to approach it. When they got to within a certain distance, though, it suddenly glowed a bright red color and began to rise into the air. Within seconds it was gone.

Just under 24 hours later at 6 am in Tuscany, a farmworker named Ulderico Cardinali was walking along a path in the countryside when he noticed a suddenly appearing patch of fog and heard a strange buzzing sound. The fog eventually cleared slightly, revealing a strange object resting on the ground which the witness at first mistook for a downed airplane. The more he looked, though, the more he realized this was something entirely different, going on to further describe the object as looking to a large “plate” that was simply sitting on the ground and made of some kind of strange shiny metal.

Even stranger was the strange figure that was moving about near the object. He estimated that it was around four feet tall and had on some kind of yellow-brown uniform. He continued to watch the creature perform whatever duties it was undertaking before it then went inside the craft. Several moments later the object rose into the air and took off, disappearing out of sight over the trees.

Later that same day, also in Tuscany, at around 9 pm, a local doctor witnessed a glowing globe while driving his car. The object came to a stop and hover around 60 feet above the ground at a distance of around 150 feet. When he brought his car to a stop in order to get a clearer look, coincidentally or not, the object suddenly shot off into the distance.

A Build-Up Of Close Encounters

At 6 around 8 pm on 25^th October in Liguria, a local resident reported a disc-shaped object that glowed a red color land nearby before two humanoid entities exited the strange vehicle. They looked around for only several moments before returning back inside the object which then rose into the air and disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

Two days later, according to a report in Passport to Magonia by Jacques Vallee, at around 2 pm on 27^th October in Ciolica Alta, a local resident – Fabrizio Bruno – reported seeing an object in a field that was giving a “blinding glare”. It appeared to be transparent and hovered several feet above the ground. He also recalled hearing a hissing sound that he assumed came from the object. He was unable to move due to his amazement, only coming back to his senses when the object began to rise into the air and made its way off into the distance.

In Padova at around 9 pm on the 28^th October, an egg-shaped object was witnessed by three people. The strange craft was hovering a short distance above some nearby trees before it then shone a strange beam at one of the houses. It eventually took off into the distance. One of the witnesses would claim to have suffered from irritated eyes for several days after the sighting.

On the same day, in Rome, the American Ambassador to Italy, Clare Booth Luce, witnessed a round, glowing object hovering above the city. Several other witnesses also corroborated the sighting. What’s more, it was claimed that Angel Hair was discovered on the streets below shortly after the sighting.

On the afternoon of 29^th October, at around 2:30 pm in Palagonia, a glowing disc-shaped object was witnessed by several field workers hovering over them. They recalled the object had two red lights on the underside. Of more shock to them, though, was the strange creature they could clearly see inside the object that was staring at them. This continued for several seconds before the object took off and disappeared.

The following day in Muro Lucano, several hunters witnessed two strange rhomboid-shaped objects overhead, with one of the landings in a clearing around 150 feet from their location. The witnesses recalled there was a strange cylinder object hanging from the craft. When it rose into the air after several moments on the ground this cylinder collided with the trees. It eventually began to rise steadily into the air, gaining in speed as it did so.

Several Reasons The Rosa Lotti Case Remains Important

As we can see then, there were many UFO encounters with strange humanoids during the same time as the Rosa Lotti incident. And we have examined only the ones that occurred in Italy toward the end of the year. If we had space and time to examine those from the rest of Europe (particularly France) as well as the rest of the world, we would find multiple other similar encounters.

Just what was taking place during 1954 and were even some of these strange aerial sightings the result of extraterrestrial visitation? And if so, what was the reason for these encounters, and why did certain countries (such as Italy or France) experience more encounters than others? Were they part of a fact-finding mission of some kind or general reconnaissance?

It is perhaps also interesting to consider the fact that despite all of the close encounters with the apparent occupants of these strange crafts there were hardly any claims of alien abduction. Might this mean that whoever this speculative alien race was they were different from the grey aliens who would – if we accept the reports to be accurate – begin abducting people around the world from the 1960s onward?

We might remind ourselves once more – even if we need to treat the claim with a pinch of salt – of meetings between different alien races and President Eisenhower in early 1954. Might this increased presence on Earth during this period in time suggest there might be more to such claims than many of us might think?

What if some kind of top-secret unknown government agency – from America or elsewhere – was behind this surge of sightings? We might ask ourselves many of the same questions. If we assume that an American led secret agency was behind such sightings and encounters, might such countries as Italy have seen an increased number of sightings – even during a UFO wave – due to the sheer number of American bases throughout Europe, and so increasing opportunities to launch such mysterious clandestine missions from?

There is much speculation and many questions regarding the Rosa Lotti case and the wave of sightings around Italy during the final months of 1954. It remains, though, one of the most intriguing cases and important periods of UFO history.

The video below looks at UFO sightings, in general, a little further.