Between 1978 and 1981, in the hills of Torriglia, Italy, a security guard named Pier Fortunato Zanfretta reported being abducted multiple times by non-human beings. His claims sparked national interest, police investigations and even hypnotic regression sessions. To this day, the Zanfretta Case remains one of the most extraordinary and controversial alien abduction stories in Europe.
The First Encounter – December 6, 1978
While on patrol near the village of Marzano in the Province of Genoa, 26-year-old Zanfretta, working as a night watchman for a private security firm, witnessed a bright light in the garden of a vacant villa. Thinking it was a burglary in progress, he approached the site — and that’s when everything changed.
According to his initial report, he encountered a massive, non-human entity nearly 3 meters tall, with scaly green skin, triangular eyes and clawed hands. Panicked, he fled and attempted to contact his employer by radio, shouting:
“No, they are not men!”
Shortly after, he vanished from radio contact for about 15 minutes and was later found by colleagues in a state of shock — his clothes were warm and dry despite the cold, rainy night.
Police Involvement and Investigation
Local police initially considered it a possible hallucination or hoax. However, investigating officers reported unusual findings:
- Large horse-shoe shaped imprints in the soil where the UFO allegedly landed, measuring over 2 meters in diameter.
- Multiple independent witnesses in the region also reported seeing strange lights and flying objects that same night.
Zanfretta insisted his experience was real and agreed to undergo hypnotic regression, which was supervised by doctors and a journalist. During the sessions, he revealed a more detailed and disturbing account.
The Aliens and Their Message
Under hypnosis, Zanfretta described his abductors as reptilian beings from the planet Titania, located in the constellation of the “Third Galaxy.” According to him:
- They communicated telepathically.
- They claimed they wanted to make contact with humans, not harm them.
- They showed him advanced technologies, including a mysterious “sphere of light”.
- They allegedly implanted a device in him to track or monitor him.
Recurring Abductions (1978–1981)
In total, Zanfretta claimed to have been abducted at least 11 times between 1978 and 1981. Each time, he provided consistent and coherent details under hypnosis. The case received widespread media coverage in Italy, including on national television.
During one of the final abductions, he claimed the beings entrusted him with a glowing, pyramidal object, which they said was meant for “all of humanity.” But due to fear and public pressure, he never revealed what happened to it.
Public Reaction and Legacy
- Media: The case was featured in newspapers, radio and television across Italy and Europe.
- Public opinion was divided — some considered Zanfretta delusional, others saw him as a credible and sincere witness.
- Hypnotists and psychologists involved testified that he genuinely believed his story and showed no signs of deceit or mental illness.
- UFO researchers widely consider this one of the strongest abduction cases in Europe.
The Evidence
- Official police reports and recordings of the hypnosis sessions were archived.
- Multiple eyewitnesses corroborated seeing strange lights on the dates of the abductions.
- Journalistic investigations found no signs of a hoax or fabrication.
- In 2014, his case was revisited in Italian media with renewed interest due to its enduring mystery.
The Zanfretta Case challenges the boundaries between psychology, reality and the unknown. Whether one believes his story or not, the consistency of his testimony and the emotional toll it took on him are undeniable. Pier Fortunato Zanfretta, now retired, has never retracted his claims and continues to insist that what he experienced was real, traumatic and world-changing.