THINK ABOUTIT UFO|ENTITY SIGHTING REPORT
Date: July 25 1952
Sighting Time: 0300
Day/Night: before dawn
Location: San Pietro a Vico Italy
Urban or Rural: Rural
Hynek Classification: CE-III (Close Encounter III) Close observation with animate beings associated with the object.
Duration:
No. of Object(s): 1
Size of Object(s):
Distance to Object(s):
Shape of Object(s): It was a black circular disc with oval openings, a transparent central tower, five propellers underneath, and three concentric cones on top. It appeared to be drawing up water through a long tube.
Color of Object(s): black
Number of Witnesses: 1 – On July 25, 1952, at 3:00 am, witness Carlo Rossi saw a circular object hovering over the Serchio river.
Special Features/Characteristics: a human face looked out, and stretched out an arm
Source: Siro Menicucci for the research group for the Study Of UFO Phenomena, Prato Italy
Summary/Description: Going to the river Serchio before dawn to fish, Carlo Rossi saw hovering over it a circular object, apparently drawing up water through a long tube. It was black, with oval openings around the edge, and in the center a transparent tower 6 meters in diameter and extending 3 meters below the disc. In this were 4 thin tubes attached to a central cylinder, and a bluish flame was passing between these tubes.
Under the disc were 5 equidistant propellers, and on top 3 concentric cones. The only sound was “like silk rustling.” From a porthole in the turret a human face looked out, and stretched out an arm toward Rossi, who threw himself over the ridge of the bank. He saw a green ray projected above him, and felt an electric like shock. Then he saw the UFO depart “at frightful speed.”
2 months later, he encountered there a very thin & tall angler with a peculiar accent, who asked him if he had ever seen any sort of aircraft over the river, and gave him a peculiar cigarette that immediately made him feel faint. The stranger grabbed the cigarette from him, threw it in the river, & hastened away.
The San Pietro a Vico encounter stands as a remarkable case in Italian ufology due to the highly specific mechanical details reported by Carlo Rossi. The transition from a CE-III craft observation to a bizarre humanoid interaction two months later—involving the mysterious ‘tall angler’ and his incapacitating cigarette—suggests a persistent or follow-up presence at the Serchio river location. This dual-layered narrative, supported by the research of Siro Menicucci, highlights the complex and often personal nature of 1950s encounters. It remains a cornerstone of the 1952 Italian UFO wave, challenging researchers to consider whether these phenomena were merely passing observations or targeted interactions with specific witnesses.
