Text: Fústar
Artist: Walter Molino
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Where: Cennina, Italy
When: November 1, 1954
Witness: Rosa Lotti
Introduction
At first sight, aliens appear to be a pretty humourless bunch. They lecture us on the evils of war, prophesise environmental catastrophe, and mutilate our cattle in a distinctly non-jocular way. Nevertheless, they do seem to possess their own peculiar brand of mirth.
So sayeth "graylien" (over at the ever-entertaining Cabinet of Wonders) before going on to document a few chucklesome examples of black/surreal/absurd alien humour. The below case may not be too rich in extraterrestrial gag-making (alas), but in terms of joviality and merriment these "spacemen" would be hard to surpass.
Before getting into the details of the encounter, mention must be made of the beautiful Walter Molino image above (taken from the cover of "La Domenica del Corriere", Nov. 14, 1954). It may appear (at first glance) like a highly-stylised impression of what was (in reality) a more banal event, but it actually captures the "fairy tale-esque" quality of the story quite accurately.
Details sourced mainly from the invaluable ufoevidence.org.1
Appearance
The two beings were roughly one metre in height, and wore grey, one-piece overalls (covering even their feet). Over these they wore "a sort of doublet" (with small buttons "like shining stars"), and each had a small grey cloak on "his" back. They also wore tight-fitting trousers, "like the long underpants that our men wear in the winter."
Though they wore "leather" helmets (which obscured their ears) their faces - which looked "normal, but small" - were uncovered. While their noses and mouths were "of normal shape", their upper lips were "slightly curled in the centre, so that even when they were not laughing their [rather protruding] teeth were still exposed." They also had "magnificent eyes", suggestive of great intelligence.2
Event
At 6.30 a.m on the morning of November 1st (Feast of All Saints), 1954, Rosa Lotti ("a forty-year-old peasant woman") set off toward Cennina's church and cemetery. In her hands she carried a bunch of carnations "destined for the altar of the Madonna Pellegrina, whose procession had taken place the preceding evening."
Given that it was a feast-day she was wearing a new dress and her "best" shoes (though she carried the latter, along with her stockings, to avoid getting them dirty).
As she arrived in "the middle of a small clearing among…shrubs and sparse trees" she suddenly noticed a strange object "near a pine tree and on the edge of the little grassy area" (she later described it variously as: "A sort of double cone, over 2 metres high and about a metre wide in the middle", and, "Like two bells joined together at their bases"):
"The outside of it shone as though it was of very polished light metal. On the lower cone there was an open glass door, and inside it could be seen two little seats, little [sic] scats like those used by children. In the central part of the spindle, where it was widest, there was a sort of roundish glass, closely following the round shape of the mysterious machine."3
As Rosa stood and stared in astonishment the two beings described (and pictured) above appeared from behind the "craft" and approached her "with friendly faces":
They gesticulated, but with no trace of menace. Indeed, on the contrary, in a friendly fashion, as though they were trying to make themselves understood and to strike up a rudimentary conversation.4
All the while they chattered away in a "vigorous, lively" fashion, making noises that sounded to Mrs. Lotti like "Chinese" ('liu', 'lai', 'loi', 'lau', 'loi', 'liu' etc).
They then approached Rosa (who, in spite of all the chatter and laughing, was terrified) and grabbed one of her stockings and the bunch of carnations out of her hands (see image for details):
When she remonstrated timidly, the one who seemed the older of the two handed some of the flowers back to her, but kept five of them. Then, having examined the structure of the flowers with an air of curiosity, and laughing the while, he wrapped them in the stocking and threw them into the "spindle" through the small opening.5
After stepping back a few paces they reached into the "machine" and took out two white, circular objects (which appeared to be wrapped in something akin to newspaper). Before they could turn toward her again, Rosa took the opportunity to flee - turning back only when she had put about 100 metres between her and the beings, to find (of course) that they and their "machine" had vanished.
Thoughts
Like the Rowley Regis case, this encounter further blurs the already fuzzy line that (just about) separates the worlds of "aliens" and "fairies". Throw in the facts that it was the "Feast of All Saints" (the day after Halloween), and that Mrs. Lotti was on her way to honour the BVM and you've got a multi-layered winner on your hands.
I'm not entirely sure if you'd classify the site of the sighting as a "wood", but it's clear that Walter Molino felt a "wood-like" atmosphere would lend his illustration just the right flavour. He chose wisely of course - for woods and forests are places of magic; places where (as Shakespeare and many others have shown) the "order" of the town/city gives way to the delirious "chaos" of the otherworld. Note: This may explain why fairies/aliens are rarely seen in shopping centre car parks…
Mischievous laughter, prodigious intelligence, petty kleptomania (etc.) are, again, all things commonly associated with "the good folk" (at least in this neck of the woods). They can also be generous gift-givers (when the mood takes them), so it's possible the "white, circular objects" were intended as some form of reward for Mrs. Lotti's "donation" of flowers and a stocking. Wrapping things in newspaper is never the classiest approach of course, but it's the thought that counts.
The relentless jollity of the little fellas is, perhaps, the encounter's most memorable detail - for though aliens may be notorious "thieves" (cow anuses, people, time) whose super-intelligence is rarely questioned, they're not (as "graylien" correctly observes) necessarily the first beings you'd invite to a party.
For "Part 2", click here.
Images
- Which contains an excerpt from Sergio Conti's "The Cennina Landing of 1954", FSR (Sept/Oct 1972). [back]
- http://www.ambrafilarmonica.it/ [back]
- From La Nazione Italiana, November 2, 1954. [back]
- http://www.ufoevidence.org [back]
- Ibid. [back]
Added: July 2nd, 2007
Tags: All, Fairy, Helmet, 1954, One-Piece Suit, Italy, Theft, cloak, laughter
Views: 4951
Comments: 4
©2007 edited & written by Fústar, designed by Jess Beeley Byrne
Graylien says:
You might find the Angelo D'Ambros encounter interesting - it's covered in Tim Good's book Alien Base and has some interesting parallels to the Danielli case.
In a nutshell, two levitating goblins hassle an Italian gathering firewood and attempt to steal his machete.
D'Ambros seems to have been made of sterner stuff than Rosa Danielli, for he not only retained his machete but drove off the goblins (who made their getaway in a flying saucer!).
Fústar says:
I do. I do find it interesting (and may cover it at a later date).
In fairness to Rosa Lotti (nei Danielli), she was only "armed" with a pair of shoes, a bunch of flowers, and some stockings. If she'd had a machete handy she may well have dealt out some whup-ass.
It's possible that these that little chaps were simply looking for a souvenir of their trip to earth I suppose…
Either that or they were trying to profit from their planet's burgeoning "earth artefact" black market.
"I bid 600 squalluades for the Earthwoman's stocking!"
Prolan says:
CfZBIj re re re
GAV GAV
prolan5 says:
ogEsp0 eeeerrrffddgggggggccccc