The weekly supplement of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra published in 1962 a series of articles consisting mainly of interviews of people who claimed to have seen flying saucers. Journalist Renato Albanese interviewed a 42 years-old mechanic of Bologna, Luciano Galli, who told him a story of having traveled in a flying saucer on July 7, 1957.
The man claimed to have encountered another man in the streets, who stared at him and behaved strangely, and, speaking a perfect Italian, invited him to come into their Fiat 1100 car for a trip, an offer Galli readily accepted.
They drove to a place called the Croara ridge where a flying saucer was awaiting them. From the bottom of it a metallic cylinder came out and a kind of opening appeared in this cylinder. Through it, Galli ascended into the ship, and was flashed by a light that his guest said was them taking a photograph of him.
Galli described the "pilot's cabin" as spacious and round with a lot of instruments around, panels with many lights. There were also hatches, and the seats were fixed somehow to the floor. In the middle of the floor was a kind of circular window, about one meter wide. Through it he could see the earth fall away from us.
They later landed at some space base where he saw a huge cigar-shaped mothership with openings where the smaller "scout craft" came in and out. Galli said that no less than 400 to 500 people were standing and walking around in the mothership's hangars, men and women, wearing clothes of a shining plastic or silky material. When they passed by him, they smiled, and the women were very beautiful and friendly. Galli asked where the mothership came from and he was told by his guest that it comes from a base near Venus.
Later on, Galli was shown through a big hall, a kind of library, into another big room which he said was the commander's area, then he was brought back to earth at the Croara ridge.
When the newspaper journalist who lead the interview showed signs of incredulity at listening to his story, Galli said that what he had told was true, and that is about all the evidence he offered to the story, obviously Adamski-inspired; which might explain that it never became a big hit in the ufology literature.
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[Ref. dc1:] DOMENICA DEL CORRIERE DELLA SERRA:
The Luciano Galli StoryJuly 7, 1957 When we asked our correspondent, Mr Renato Albanese, to go and visit some of the people in Italy who claimed to have seen UFOs, Mr. Albanese laughed out loud. But knowing it is one of his professional duties to follow the tracks of interesting reader stories, even if they sound like hallucination, Albanese took the road. We expected him to come back still laughing, still making fun of the UFO story, but he returned in a very different, very earnest mood. He seemed to be deeply affected. "Frankly, I don't know what to say," he said. "I have heard such amazing things. If those flying contraptions do not exist, then there is a still more unbelievable strangeness behind all this". Albanese's interview with the mechanic Luciano Galli of BolognaGalli is a simple normal man, 42 years old, rather small in stature. He does not look his age because the expression of his face is somewhat childlike. He is short-sighted and wears his glasses constantly. Galli is married and has three children. His flat is somewhere near the via Castiglione. I received his address through Alberto Perego da Roia. Galli is a modest mechanic and head of a small workshop. His free time is spent in fishing. I had arrived in a rented car. Without formalities, Galli took the steering wheel and drove me with competence to the spot where he had met the UFO craft. This had happened on July 7th, 1957. Our car left the town, went around San Ruffillo and followed a smaller road over a hill. From there we came to a ridge named Croara, 57 km away from Bologna. We left the car and went to a lower ground. The ground was surrounded by musky rocks. Here, Galli said, the UFO awaited him, hovering about 2 meters above the ground. Galli described the color of the object as shining gray. His detailed description reminded this interviewer much of George Adamski's photos of bell-shaped craft. Yet, Galli was ready to take an oath that at the time of his experience he had not even heard the name of Adamski. Later, in order to make me believe that he was not telling fairy tales he wanted to sign a declaration: "I do not want people to say that I made up this story in order to gain publicity or money. What I have told is the naked truth." Here are the particulars of his story. On July 7th, Galli left his home at 14:20 in order to go back to work after lunch. At that time his workshop was situated in a blind alley off via Castiglione. He was nearing this alley when suddenly a black car, a Fiat 1100, stopped in front of him. A rather tall gentleman of the dark type, with regular features and very dark eyes, stepped out. "His face was of the kind which invites you to be friendly," Galli said. The gentleman wore a double buttoned suit complete with collar and tie, and he spoke fluent Italian. At the wheel of the car was another man with delicate features, he was dressed in a light coloured costume; he wore no moustache like the dark one, and he never said a word. "I knew the man with the moustache from sight," Galli explained. "I had noticed him several times in town, he even seemed to follow me once, I remember, I walked with a friend through the arcades of via Castigilone when I saw this man again. As always, he looked straight into my eyes and this time I wanted to address him, but suddenly, he disappeared from view." Now this very stranger was standing before me, asking me if I remembered him. I said yes. "Won't you come with us", he asked. "Where to?" "have confidence, nothing bad will happen to you." Galli took a seat in their car and rode away with the two men. At 14:30, they arrived on the Croara ridge. A round ufo was awaiting them. From the bottom of it a metallic cylinder came out and a kind of opening appeared in this cylinder. Through it, Galli ascended into the ship. Galli, who in the beginning had been afraid, felt calm again as soon as he was inside the vehicle. He was not yet completely in it when two lights flashed up. "Don't be afraid, said the man with the moustache, you are only being photographed." "What kind of clothes did you wear that day?" Albanese asked. "Exactly the same as now, my working overalls," was the answer. "And what did you see in the interior of the ship?" "The pilot's cabin was spacious and round with a lot of instruments around, panels with many lights. There were also hatches, and the seats were fixed somehow to the floor. In the middle of the floor was a kind of circular window, about one meter wide. Through it we could see the earth fall away from us. First the earth looked like from one of our own planes, then - when we were already in the dark zone - it looked like the moon and later like Venus or Mars." "Were you able to talk to the man you called commander?" "Yes, very well. He spoke a perfect italian. I asked him how he had managed to learn our language so well. He answered that he had used a very good method." Suddenly, Galli discovered through a hatch the silhouette of an enormous blimp. Its length was at least 600 meters. One end was cut like the end of a cigar. This huge ship emitted phosphorus light and on top of that it looked as if strong light beams were directed toward it. Underneath the cut end, six openings came into view, out of which and into which small flying disks were seen coming and going. Every opening was divided by a partition wall into six smaller cubicles, all wide open. "This is one of our spaceships," Galli's companion said. "We have many others." Now Galli gave a description of such unheard of details inside the cigar-shaped craft that he has to take over the whole responsibility for it. He said that when coming nearer to the ship they saw that the opening were big hangars, capable of accommodating at least 50 smaller saucer-shaped craft. No less than 400 to 500 people were standing and walking around in the hangers, men and women. This is what Galli said on oath. All those people wore clothes of a shining plastic or silky material. When they passed by him, they smiled. The women were very beautiful and friendly. Galli asked his companion, spellbound, from where this ship came. "From a base near the planet you call Venus," was the answer. Later on, Galli was shown through a big hall, a kind of library, into another big room which he took for the commander's area. Some time afterwards, he was shown back to one of the hangars and into the same scout craft, always in the company of the man with the moustache and a face like an angel in plain clothes. He was brought back to the very spot near Croara ridge. "My trip began at 14:30 of July 7th and ended about 17:20 of the same day, same month, same year. The whole trip was completed in three hours and ten minutes." At the conclusion of this fantastic interview, the journalist asked Galli if he was sure that those things had not happened to him while in trance or under hypnosis. "I have never been hypnotized," he answered. "I took this trip in my physical body, this is indeed so. What i say is nothing but the truth." |
[Ref. jr1:] JACQUES RIVOYRE:
The author indicates that the editor of the Italian magazine Domenico Della Serra heard so much testimonies of UFOs that he sent his journalist Renato Albanese to investigate. One of the accounts collected by Albanese and chosen by the editor of the magazine is that of Luciano Galli, which then made the frontpage of the June 1962 issue of the magazine.
According to the account in the magazine, Luciano Galli, aged 42, is a modest engineer, married and father of two children, who heads a small workshop in the suburbs of Rome.
He led the journalist to the place where he says he met a saucer on July 7 either of 1957 or of 1959, he does not remember the year well anymore. With the journalist, he leaves the city, circumvents San Ruffillo and follows a small road on a hill, then moves towards a small ridge named Croara, 57 km from Bologna, where they leave the car and go towards grounds surrounded by rocks a little lower, called "il buco dei Prete Santo".
Galli indicates that on the day of his meeting, he had left his residence with 02:30 p.m. to return to work, and at the time when he arrived close to the lane where his workshop is, he had seen a black car stop in front of him, from which a rather tall man left, quite dark skinned, with regular features "which put you in confidence and invite you to be friendly", he specified. The man was in a gray suit with a double row of buttons, collar and tie and spoke Italian fluently, and another clear coloured man waited without saying a word. Galli indicates that he knew the men with the moustache because he had seen him downtown sometimes and he even seemed to want to follow him. On one occasion when Galli walked with a friend under the arcades of Castiglione street, he had seen him looking right into the eyes and Galli had wanted to talk to him, but this man "disappeared suddenly." This time, the man asked whether Galli remembered him, and Galli answered that he did.
The man then asked him whether he wants to come with them, Galli asks where, and the man answers that he cam be confident for nothing bad would happen to him. Galli goes up in their car and they drove away from the city, arriving towards 03:30 p.m. on the Croara ridge where a flying saucer awaited them, hovering two meters above ground-level.
A metal cylinder comes out of the saucer, comprising an opening, and Galli encouraged by his two chance companions goes up in the saucer, where he is immediately surrounded by a violent light. One of the men reassures him and explains that they only want to make a photograph of him.
Galli tells to the journalist that the "pilot's cabin" was roomy and circular, with "heaps of instruments around, panels with dials." There is a kind of circular window of approximately a meter broad, through which he sees that the saucer moves away from the Earth.
Galli tells that he chattered with the commander of the saucer who spoke a perfect Italian. He asked him how he managed to learn this language so well, and the man answered that he "had used a very good method."
Galli then looks through one of the portholes and sees a silhouette of a huge phosphorescent dirigible profiled in the plain at a distance of almost 600 meters. He sees at an end of that craft six openings through which small saucers enter and come out, and one of the men explains him why it is one their vessels of space. It approaches some with the two men and Galli says that he realized that the openings are hangars being able to shelter at least fifty flying saucers. He is then amazed to see several hundreds of men and women, "all dressed of silky material or shining plastic suits" that were busy around these hangars. These people make him friendly signs and smile at him. His companions explain him that all these craft that fly around the mothership, come from planet Venus.
Galli is taken back in the saucer and flown back to the starting point at 07:40 p.m.. As apparently the journalist showed signs of incredulity when listening to him, "he endeavoured to prove his good faith", which consisted in ensuring that he was never hypnotized in his life and made this trip for true in his physical body, and added "what I say is nothing other than the truth."
[Ref. bh1:] ROBERT E. BARTHOLOMEW AND GEORGE S. HOWARD:
The authors indicate that in July 1957, at Croara Ridge, near Rome, Italy, by day, after eating lunch, Luciano Galli left home and was going back to work when a black car pulled up and a man he had met once on a Rome street asked him to take a ride.
Galli agreed, a third man drove them to a saucer by Croara Ridge. Galli followed the tall, dark-complexioned, black-eyed man into the craft. Suddenly, two lights flashed and he was told "We have just taken your picture."
He was taken for a ride to a nearby 2000-foot-long cigar-shaped space station, which several saucers were entering and leaving. They went into a chamber with "four or five hundred people there, ...standing and walking around." After touring the complex, Galli was returned to Croara Ridge. The whole episode lasted less than four hours.
The authors indicate that the source is John A. Keel, "Why UFOs", New York: Manor, 1970, pp. 186-87, also published as "UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse", New York, Putnam's Sons, 1970.
There is no reason to view this fabulous story as anything else than one among the many Adamski-inspired fables of that time.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ufology | Severe | October 12, 2006 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | No ufology investigation seems to have been conducted. | - | Opened. |
Contactee-type fable.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 12, 2006 | Creation, [dc1], [jr1]. |
| 0.2 | Patrick Gross | October 12, 2006 | First published. |
| 0.2b | Patrick Gross | September 30, 2007 | Addition: [bh1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | September 30, 2007 | Conversion from HTML4 to XHTML Strict. |
