Cielo Insolito - No 05

Magazine Overview

Title: CIELO INSOLITO
Issue: Numero 5
Date: Dicembre 2017 (December 2017)
Type: Rivista di Storiografia Ufologica (Journal of Ufological Historiography)

This issue of CIELO INSOLITO, number 5, dated December 2017, is dedicated to historical anomalous events, focusing on the 1879 aerolite crash into Lake Lugano and the 1947 Hal Boyle 'abduction' story. The magazine features articles in Italian, with some English text on the cover and within the articles themselves.

The Aerolite Crash into Lake Lugano

This extensive article details the event of June 7, 1879, when a large bolide was observed crossing Switzerland and reportedly crashed into Lake Lugano. The report, drawing from contemporary newspapers and science press accounts, notes that the crash was only observed by fishermen and nothing was recovered due to the lake's depth. The meteor was first seen around 9:30 PM in Geneva, described as large as a full moon, intensely brilliant, and moving with extreme rapidity in a north-northeasterly direction. It was observed in various locations across Switzerland and Italy, including Neuchatel, Zurich, Schaffhausen, Zug, San Vittorio Olona in Lombardy, and near Melide.

Witnesses described the phenomenon with a luminous center as large as a full moon, surrounded by a red aureole and a flaming tint. The trajectory was sinuous, with some accounts describing a zig-zag form. Anomalous aspects include its zig-zag path and reports of iridescent or greenish light. After its disappearance, a loud report, resembling artillery fire, was heard, and a shower of aerolites reportedly fell into Lake Lugano, causing violent undulations and nearly overturning boats.

The article meticulously reconstructs the meteor's path based on witness reports and newspaper accounts, tracing its flight from Geneva over the Alps and valleys towards Lake Maggiore before descending into Lake Lugano. The time of the sightings varied, with reports at 9:30, 9:45, and 10:00 PM, leading to some confusion.

Despite the unusual attributes, the meteorite was catalogued in official records, including the Report of the British Association and Mitteilungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bern. The article also notes a similar, though distinct, event on September 9, 1952, where witnesses in Italy spotted a bright rotating object that exploded over Lake Lugano, with a large body crashing into the lake.

1947: The Boyle Abduction and Other Encounter Stories

This section focuses on the widely publicized story of Harold Vincent Boyle, a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist. On July 8, 1947, Boyle's syndicated story about his humorous abduction aboard a flying saucer piloted by an 8-foot tall green Martian was published in over 1,000 American newspapers. The tale, purportedly from a manuscript found in an empty beer bottle, was presented as a sensational scoop.

The article explains that while saucers had been linked to Mars before this date, Boyle's yarn had a significant impact, reaching millions and embedding the concept of advanced flying machines from elsewhere into public consciousness. It highlights the long-standing cultural fascination with Martians as intelligent beings, fueled by science fiction, radio broadcasts, and popular media. Boyle's story, while ridiculous, served to satirize the growing craze around flying saucers and the extraterrestrial hypothesis.

The article reproduces excerpts from Boyle's column, detailing his encounter with a green Martian named Balmiston X-Ray O'Rune from Mars, who was on a 'treasure hunt sweepstakes' to collect twelve 'safe objects,' including Orson Welles. Boyle's narrative describes being taken aboard a 'cowboy hat' shaped spaceship and piloting it back and forth between locations in the US.

The publication of Boyle's story is detailed, noting that it appeared on July 8, 1947, in many newspapers, often with sensational headlines emphasizing Mars or other planets as the origin of the saucers. The article suggests Boyle's intention was to ridicule the saucer stories and the people involved.

Editorial and Contents

The magazine's table of contents ('Sommario') lists several other articles, including:

• The Aerolite Crash into Lake Lugano (page 1)
• A hail of bolides: the meteor phenomenon of June 7, 1879, in Italy and the presumed meteoritic fall in Ticino (page 5)
• 1947 - The Boyle abduction and other encounter stories (page 9)
• "H" - 1950: an Italian cinematic subject on flying saucers (and much more) (page 23)
• Strait of Otranto, October 1957: a "reddish ball" accompanies an airliner (page 29)
• Abstracts (page 34)

The editorial section provides contact information for Giuseppe Stilo and Maurizio Verga of the Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici (CISU), encouraging submissions and communication.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are historical UFO/UAP events, particularly those involving celestial phenomena like meteors and aerolites, and early UFO reports that captured public imagination. The editorial stance appears to be one of historical investigation and documentation of anomalous aerial phenomena, presenting factual accounts and contemporary reactions to these events. The inclusion of the Hal Boyle story suggests an interest in how such phenomena were perceived, reported, and satirized in popular culture.

This issue of CIELO INSOLITO, identified as #25 and dated 1947, delves into the burgeoning phenomenon of flying saucers and alien encounters, primarily through a lens of satire and humor. The magazine features a collection of articles, many of which are reprints or inspired by the work of Associated Press Staff Writer Hal Boyle, who himself wrote several outlandish and amusing tales.

Hal Boyle's "Flying Saucer" Adventures

The core of this issue revolves around Hal Boyle's fictional accounts of his supposed experiences with flying saucers and Martians. In the first article, Boyle recounts being abducted by a Martian named Balmiston X-Ray O'Rune, an eight-foot-tall, green-haired being with a single, yolk-yellow eye. Boyle describes being taken aboard a "flying saucer" that he likens to a cowboy hat seven stories tall, equipped with "infra-invisible paint." The Martian claims to be on a "Universal Martian Treasury Hunt Sweepstake," seeking items like Orson Welles and a slice of moon cheese. Boyle's narrative is filled with absurd dialogue and situations, such as being offered peanuts that are chomped by a hidden mouth and the Martian's quest for specific earthly items.

Boyle's second article continues the narrative, detailing his 48-hour, 57,600-mile journey in the flying saucer with Balmiston. The Martian pilot, identified as Balmiston X-Ray O'Rune, is described as one of 500 Martian pilots competing in a "treasure hunt." The journey includes a trip over the Atlantic, a search for Magellan's gold tooth in Cairo, and a near-miss with Russian airspace due to Stalin's sensitivity about passports. Boyle's narrative is characterized by its deliberate absurdity, aiming to debunk or at least mock the seriousness with which some were approaching UFO reports.

Satirical and Humorous Takes on the UFO Wave

Beyond Boyle's direct contributions, the magazine highlights how other newspapers and journalists engaged with the 1947 UFO wave. It notes that many newspaper titles were misleading, playing on the mystery with irony. Some papers would randomly cut sentences from original texts to fit available space, distorting the original meaning. The issue presents examples of other humorous stories, including one from The Nashville Tennessean about a man encountering "Men from Mars" on a flying field, and another from The Houston Post about a merchant seaman meeting a small, two-foot-tall man from a silver disc.

Another article discusses a story published in The East Oregonian, which, upon closer examination, was found to be related to the 40th anniversary of a sighting rather than a contemporary report. This highlights the tendency for stories to be recontextualized or embellished over time. The magazine also touches upon the "American airship scare of 1896-97," drawing parallels to how hoaxes and unusual sightings were treated in different eras.

The issue also features a piece by Dewitt E. Carroll of the Greensboro Record, which presents an interview with a Martian offering critical commentary on Earth's political and social situation. This approach, where Martians served as wise commentators, was not uncommon before World War II and reappeared in 1947, merging with the new flying saucer narrative.

Object Descriptions and Characteristics

The descriptions of the flying saucers and their occupants vary but often share common elements that became iconic. The saucers are frequently described as disc-shaped, sometimes like "two saucers fastened together," and are noted for their high speeds, often cited as 1,200 mph. The occupants are typically depicted as "little men," though Boyle's Martian is an exception, being large and green. These beings are often described with unusual features, such as green hair, single eyes, or strange appendages, contributing to the exotic and sometimes comical portrayal.

The Role of Sci-Fi and Popular Culture

The magazine suggests that many of these stories, including Boyle's, drew heavily from popular science fiction comics and pulp stories. The authors are seen as mixing these fictional elements with current news and public imagination to create entertaining narratives. The recurring themes of exotic propulsion, close encounters, and piloting the saucer are noted as precursors to later "contactee" claims.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The overarching theme of this issue is the humorous and often satirical treatment of the 1947 UFO wave. The magazine appears to be critical of sensationalism and misinformation, using Boyle's outlandish stories and other examples to highlight the absurdity that often accompanied genuine reports. The editorial stance seems to be one of amusement and skepticism, using these exaggerated tales to comment on the public's fascination with the unknown and the media's role in shaping perceptions. The issue suggests that while genuine sightings might have occurred, many of the widely circulated stories were products of imagination, journalistic exaggeration, or deliberate hoaxes, often drawing inspiration from existing science fiction tropes.

This issue of CIELO INSOLITO, identified as #25, focuses on the intersection of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) with early cinema and historical sightings. The content spans from fictional screenplays to journalistic accounts and pilot testimonies, primarily from the 1950s.

"H" - 1950: An Italian Cinematic Subject About Flying Saucers (and Much More)

This extensive article delves into the early cinematic treatments of flying saucers, beginning with the 1950 US film "The Flying Saucer." It highlights how the global interest in the phenomenon in 1950 also spurred ideas in Italy, though many remained unrealized. The most significant example discussed is the original screenplay project for the film that eventually became "Totò sceicco." Initially, this project, conceived in June 1950, was to involve a hunt for a flying saucer in Arabia. However, the theme was later shifted to a parody of the myth of Atlantis, excluding the flying saucers.

The article then focuses on a third, less significant example: a 1950 home-made short film titled "Piatti volanti" (Flying Saucers) by Turin cinephile Franco Tacconet. Although satirical and featuring explicit representations of flying saucers and extraterrestrials, it is believed to have had very limited circulation.

The main subject of this section is a 16-page booklet, dated April 10, 1950, with a text dated March 27, 1950, from Genoa. This booklet contains a screenplay titled "H," with the subtitle "H – Plot for a film on the arrival of the martians." The text is presented in parallel columns, Italian on the left and English on the right, suggesting an intention to appeal to both domestic and international film markets. The author is identified as Mario Massa (1897-1973), a journalist, screenwriter, and director.

Massa's screenplay, "H," explores themes of extraterrestrial intervention related to the fear of the hydrogen bomb, similar to "The Day the Earth Stood Still." However, Massa's conception of the cosmos is materialistic, differing from the theological framework of the latter film. The plot involves Martians who land on Earth to gather data for their plastic surgeons, who aim to make them more beautiful and human-like. They seek models from public life, including mayors and salesmen.

The Martians, described as having a disproportionate head-to-body ratio and "prismatic" eyes, reproduce by spontaneous generation and lack concepts of gender, love, pleasure, or social constructs like politics or war. They consume synthetic food once a year. Massa's narrative suggests that the presence of sexual differentiation on Earth is the cause of human conflict, violence, and societal problems. The Martians' goal is to compel world leaders to destroy their hydrogen bombs.

The screenplay further details the Martians' arrival on Mars with humans, where the latter are shocked by the absence of gender differentiation. The introduction of sex on Mars leads to the development of social structures, agriculture, property, and eventually conflict, mirroring Earth's history. The narrative concludes with a bleak outlook, suggesting a cyclical nature of war and societal collapse.

The author of the article posits that Massa's screenplay reflects a sophisticated cultural reflection, perhaps too advanced for the commercial film market of the time. Two broader cultural currents are identified: one concerning the destruction of planets (linked to Jakob Lorber's ideas) and another about the cyclical, tragic nature of history, influenced by European cultural pessimism.

"O Cruzeiro", October 1957: A "Reddish Ball" Accompanies a Passenger Plane

This section discusses the Brazilian magazine "O Cruzeiro," which published extensive UFO-related content in the early 1950s. The article highlights the work of journalist João Martins, who was instrumental in popularizing UFO topics in Brazil. Martins received numerous testimonies, some of which were translated and published internationally, including in Italy.

One particular testimony, published in "O Cruzeiro" in June 1958, details an incident from 1957 involving an Italian connection. The witness is identified as Maximiniano Bittencourt Leal, a pilot for "Panair do Brasil." He reported two sightings.

The first sighting occurred on April 28, 1957, while flying a Lockheed "Constellation" L049 from Lisbon to Dakar. Leal and his co-pilot França observed a red-orange sphere, similar in appearance to Venus, that approached and then followed their aircraft at a constant distance before accelerating away at high speed, becoming indistinguishable from stars.

The second sighting, which is of greater interest due to its Italian connection, took place on the night of October 24, 1957, over the coast of southeastern Puglia, Italy. While piloting flight 267 from Istanbul to Rome, Leal, accompanied by a company official named Guy, observed a reddish-orange ball, slightly smaller than a full moon, above a compact cloud layer. The object descended slowly into the clouds, which then appeared to glow like an ember. It then re-emerged above the clouds in the same position, emitting light. Both Leal and Guy witnessed this phenomenon, and the object was described as a "flare" that did not leave a trail.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The issue consistently explores the early history of UFO phenomena and their cultural impact, particularly through the lens of science fiction and early cinematic attempts to represent these events. There's a focus on historical documentation, including film scripts, newspaper articles, and personal testimonies. The editorial stance appears to be one of serious inquiry into these historical accounts, presenting them with detailed analysis and contextualization within broader cultural and scientific trends. The issue highlights the speculative and often fictionalized nature of early UFO narratives while also presenting credible witness accounts.

Title: CIELO INSOLITO
Issue: #25
Date: October 1957 (implied by content and issue number context)

This issue of CIELO INSOLITO delves into historical UFO phenomena, contextualizing them within the socio-political climate of their times, particularly the Cold War era. It features detailed accounts of sightings, analyses of journalistic reports, and discussions on the intersection of ufology with military and scientific developments.

Commander Maximiniano Bittencourt Leal's Encounter

The issue opens with an account from Commander Maximiniano Bittencourt Leal, detailing an encounter with a luminous, ball-shaped object. The object maintained a constant distance and speed relative to his aircraft, then performed a slow, 270° left turn before ascending and diminishing in size until it disappeared. The commander reported the event to air traffic control in Brindisi, Italy, but did not initially report the specific details of the object's behavior, a decision he could not fully explain.

Historical and Geopolitical Context of UFO Sightings

An article by G. Stilo places the 1957 encounter within a broader historical and ufological context. The launch of Sputnik I in October 1957 is identified as a catalyst for a significant increase in UFO sightings globally, a phenomenon referred to as a 'ufological pandemic.' This wave of sightings affected numerous countries, including Brazil and Italy, though comprehensive systematic studies were lacking.

Italy experienced a surge in UFO reports from mid-October to mid-December 1957, with many significant episodes, yet detailed documentation remains scarce for Italian ufologists.

The specific geographical context of the Otranto Channel is highlighted. At the time, it served as a sensitive border between Western nations (NATO) and the isolated, Stalinist Albania, which was beginning to distance itself from Moscow following de-Stalinization. This region was a focal point for anti-Soviet military operations, with numerous air bases in Puglia, Italy. The area was also a site of frequent, sometimes tense, aerial incidents between aviation forces, making any events occurring over Albanian airspace a mystery, observable only through strategic reconnaissance flights.

The article notes that two years after the described incident, Jupiter medium-range ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads were installed in the region. The Brazilian aircraft incident occurred during a period of heightened public anxiety due to the presence of early Soviet satellites, placing it geographically on the 'east-west' divide of the era. Bittencourt's observation suggested the flying object initially appeared near Valona, Albania's main military base.

While this context doesn't explain the nature of the phenomenon itself, it effectively frames the sighting within the political and military concerns, as well as the ufological imagination of the time.

Abstracts of Articles

The issue includes several abstracts of other articles:

The Aerolite Crash into Lake Lugano (U. Magin, pp. 2-4)

This article examines alleged anomalies surrounding a meteor event on June 7, 1879, over Switzerland and northern Italy. It focuses on the Swiss sources and testimonies, particularly concerning the supposed fall of a large fragment of the bolide into Lake Lugano, which reportedly caused waves that nearly capsized a boat.

Une grêle de bolides: the meteoric phenomenon of June 7, 1879, in Italy and the presumed Ticinese meteoric fall (G. Stilo, pp. 5-8)

This abstract expands on the June 7, 1879, event, detailing Italian sightings and the fragmentation of the bolide's central body, along with a long-lasting tail. However, it states there is no evidence of an anomalous origin, suggesting the crash into Lake Lugano might have been a press exaggeration.

1947 - The Boyle abduction and other encounter stories (M. Verga, pp. 9-22)

This piece discusses Hal Boyle, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and his two-part fictional account from 1947 about being abducted by a giant, one-eyed green Martian. The article suggests Boyle's story, published during a major UFO wave, aimed to ridicule UFOs and their observers with a similarly ridiculous narrative. However, it notes that some elements within the story foreshadowed later contactee accounts and classic landing cases with occupants.

"H" - 1950: an Italian cinematic subject about flying saucers (and much more) (G. Stilo, pp. 23-28)

In the spring of 1950, Italian film director Mario Massa wrote a screenplay titled "H" about flying saucers. Although never produced as a film, it was a culturally significant work blending flying saucers with ideas about cosmic catastrophe and evolution. Massa may have been inspired by Immanuel Velikovsky's "Worlds in Collision" or Jakob Lorber's writings.

Canale d'Otranto, October 1957: a "reddish ball" accompanies an airliner (G. Stilo, pp. 29-33)

This abstract focuses on an incident reported by Brazilian journalist João Martins. A pilot from 'Panair do Brasil' witnessed a UFO, described as a "reddish ball," while flying over the Otranto Channel on October 24, 1957. The event is analyzed in the context of the post-Sputnik UFO wave. Stilo suggests that many similar sightings in Italy between late October and early December 1957 remain unknown to researchers.

Notes and References

The issue includes two notes:
1. A reference to a study by Jorge Luiz Romanello on photography in the magazine 'O Cruzeiro' between 1955-1961.
2. An explanation of 'Flight Information Region' (FIR) and the specific FIR of Brindisi, which extends to the middle of the Otranto Channel.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the historical analysis of UFO sightings, the influence of geopolitical events (particularly the Cold War) on public perception and reporting of UFOs, and the role of journalism in documenting and shaping narratives around unexplained aerial phenomena. The editorial stance appears to be one of serious inquiry, seeking to place UFO events within their broader historical and scientific contexts, while acknowledging the limitations of available data and the speculative nature of some interpretations.