CISU Sicilia - No 06 - gennaio 1998

Magazine Overview

Title: CISU SICILIA
Issue: Numero 6
Date: Gennaio 1998
Publisher: CISU Sicilia (Coordinamento Regionale per la Sicilia del Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici)

This issue of CISU Sicilia, a periodic bulletin from the regional coordination for Sicily of the Italian Center for Ufological Studies, covers the organization's activities and research from the second half of 1997.

Editorial: L'ANNO CHE VERRA' (The Year to Come)

Antonio Blanco's editorial reflects on the past year, marked by the 50th anniversary of the Amold sighting and the Roswell UFO crash. He contrasts the sensationalist 'ufology' fueled by alleged whistleblowers and best-selling books—which describe UFO crashes, alien autopsies, and Area 51 secrets, along with a cosmic battle between Reptiloids and Grays—with a more serious, discreet, and scientifically grounded form of ufology. Blanco argues that true ufology, pursued by a select group of passionate researchers, has the potential to engage with the academic world. He calls for abandoning 'false ufologists' who sell dreams and instead embracing science as a method, asserting that any topic can be studied scientifically. He positions CISU as the representative of this serious ufology in Italy and aims for the current year to usher in a new era for research.

UFO News Sicilia: Our Activity in the Second Half of 1997

This section details CISU Sicilia's investigative work during the latter half of 1997, focusing on cases in Western Sicily.

Investigations and Case Studies:

• Salvatore INGUI' (TP): Re-examined the 1954 'siliceous cotton' case near Gela and investigated late 1970s sightings. Notably, he debunked a 1977 Marsala UFO sighting (77TP03) as a hoax. He is also investigating cases from Palermo in 1978 (78PA11), involving photos published by newspapers, with the investigation being kept confidential due to official involvement.
• Case 85PA01 (Mondello, PA): New developments have emerged concerning a 1985 case involving two young witnesses, Anita R. (15) and Stefania V. (12). They reported seeing an unusual luminous phenomenon after a loud noise. Anita described two oval lights (red and blue), while Stefania reported multiple lights of various colors. A peculiar aspect is that family members reportedly had no memory of the event the next morning, suggesting a possible psychological phenomenon or dream state.
• IR3-E Case (Castelvetrano, TP): An investigation into a reported encounter with a 'child figure' in 1991 by a 10-year-old girl and her friend has stalled, as the witness could not be identified. The report originated from a letter published in 'X-Factor' magazine.

New Sightings:

• Mezzojuso (PA): An investigation into a daytime sighting reported by 'Giornale di Sicilia' and 'TG di Teletna' concerning a black object emitting strong light was inconclusive, with difficulties in contacting witnesses and suspicion of journalistic invention.
• Siracusa: Photographs of a 'flying saucer' taken by two teenagers in November 1997 are under scrutiny. The images, published by 'Giornale di Sicilia', appear dubious, pending analysis of the negatives.
• Riesi and Sommatino: A reported sighting (97CL01) originating from an internet discussion group, attributed to 'Cybermax', could not be verified.
• Near Selinunte (TP): A green light with a trail (likely meteoric) was observed by three university students in August 1997.
• Near Letojanni and Taormina: A 'flaming globe' sighting from November 1995.
• Gibellina Vecchia (TP): A 'flaming globe' sighting from June 1993, identified as a bolide entering the atmosphere.

1st National Symposium of AIRU

Organized by the Associazione Italiana Ricerche UFO (AIRU) in Catania on November 15th, the symposium focused on the 'Possibility of extraterrestrial life in the Universe'. The speakers largely supported the extraterrestrial hypothesis, with the exception of Louis Friedman of The Planetar Society USA. The event included a controversial presentation by Antonello Lupino of USAC, who showed a vial containing a micro-implant allegedly introduced into abductees.

A polemic arose in the newspaper 'La Sicilia' regarding Dr. Roberto Pinotti (CUN), who criticized AIRU's perceived superficiality and disavowed Dr. Gennaro Pepe's presentation on abduction cases.

CISU at a Conference

The 12th National Ufology Conference, organized by CISU, took place in Bologna on November 22nd. The theme was 'Ufology as Research Activity - Projects for Cataloging and Study within CISU'. The conference, reserved for members, included a round table discussion on ongoing projects and future developments.

UFO & Music

Francesco Spampinato has taken over as curator of the 'Ufo & Musica' catalog from Riccardo De Flora. Spampinato, who resides in Bologna, can be contacted for information.

Isolated Entities

Salvatore Foresta is conducting research on 'IR.3-E' encounters (close encounters with entities, not necessarily UFOs) in Italy, supported by Paolo Fiorino. This project is still in its early stages.

Regional Catalog

The work of revising and updating the catalog of sightings in Sicily since 1900 continues, with contributions from Santo Conte and extensive documentation gathered by Antonio Blanco in Turin.

New Board of Directors

The CISU's general assembly in Bologna elected the new Board of Directors for 1997-98: Antonio Blanco (CT), Edoardo Russo (TO), Paolo Toselli (AL), Giuseppe Verdi (RG), and Maurizio Verga (CO). Paolo Toselli was re-elected president.

Public Outreach

An interview with Antonio Blanco, titled 'The First E.T. 50 Years Ago', was published in 'Il Mercatino' on September 2nd, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the modern UFO era. Stefano Amico wrote an introductory article on UFO phenomena for the school newspaper 'Sperimentale' in Catania.

The Pannitteri Case

This article by Antonio Blanco delves into a case of interest due to its 'close encounter of the third kind' nature, where the entity was not associated with a UFO but was observed peering through a window. The case is also relevant to the study of 'humanoids in bedroom' and 'flying humanoids'. The investigation explores potential psychological aspects, including memory gaps, and the possibility of epilepsy-related phenomena. The author conducted a new investigation 14 years after the first, revealing significant discrepancies in the witness's account, attributed to the fallibility of memory concerning extraordinary events.

Premise:

The case is notable as a close encounter without a UFO, potentially involving 'bedroom humanoids' or 'flying humanoids'. The witness, Sebastiano P., a 31-year-old electromechanical worker, reported seeing a small, white, humanoid figure outside his bedroom window at 1:30 AM on December 29, 1979. The figure moved in jerky steps and made a 'zip... zip...' sound before ascending and disappearing. Sebastiano described the entity as puppet-like, about 90 cm tall, possibly nude or wearing a white suit, with dark stripes and dots on its shoulders.

Witness Testimony (Sebastiano P.):

Sebastiano was awakened by an unknown reason and noticed the night light dimming. He then heard his neighbor's dog barking. Looking out the window, he saw a white figure. Initially thinking it was a sheet, he realized it was a person. The figure turned, moved away in jerky steps with a 'zip... zip...' sound, and ascended into the air. Sebastiano pinched himself to confirm he was awake. He described the entity as resembling a fairground puppet, about 90 cm tall, possibly nude or wearing a tight white suit, with dark markings on its back and shoulders.

Wife's Account (New Details):

Sebastiano initially hesitated to recount the event. When he finally did, his mother suggested it was the ghost of his deceased father. His wife revealed that she had felt paralyzed in bed during the event and could not get up. She also recalled Sebastiano returning from the bathroom with a headache and complaining of pain, which he did not remember. She confirmed she was awake when he went to the window but couldn't move. She also heard noises like dripping water from the ceiling.

Theater of Events:

The P. family lives in a popular district of Catania, in a partially self-built house that was expanded vertically. The bedroom window overlooked a light well, allowing ambient light to enter the room. The layout made it difficult for an intruder to access the window without assistance.

Reopening the Case:

In 1994, the author reopened the case to test theories about epilepsy and UFO phenomena. Three new meetings with Sebastiano revealed that his memory of certain details had faded or become distorted. The author notes that while extraordinary events are often memorable, memory's fallibility is evident here.

Discrepancies between 1980 and 1994 Accounts:

• Duration of event: 10-12 minutes (1980) vs. 10 seconds (1994).
• Witness movement: Got out of bed, used a chair to get closer (1980) vs. remained seated on the bed (1994).
• Entity description: Dark dots on the back (1980) vs. dots aligned in two rows like buttons (1994).
• Wife's role: Called out after the entity disappeared (1980) vs. called Sebastiano while he was observing (1994).
• Vincenzina's reaction: Cried after the entity disappeared (1980) vs. stopped crying when the entity disappeared (1994).

Possible Hypotheses:

The case is considered in light of potential abduction scenarios, focusing on the 'temporal gap' related to Sebastiano's alleged trip to the bathroom. The author also explores the possibility of latent epilepsy, citing the witness's sensitivity to light, headaches, and a 'blocked brain' sensation. The possibility of the event being hallucinatory or dream-like is also considered. The author notes that Sebastiano refuses hypnotic regression due to fear of the emotional impact.

Notes:

The article includes extensive notes referencing other ufological studies, medical conditions, and specific details of the case.

Revisiting a Sicilian Case of "Humanoid in the Bedroom"

This section appears to be a continuation or related article to the Pannitteri case, discussing a similar phenomenon.

The Photos of the UFO of Comiso

This article by Giuseppe Verdi details a photographic case from Comiso, Sicily.

• The Sighting: On June 19, 1987, Giuseppe Lucifora, while taking photos of his new house in Comiso, observed an object moving slowly in the sky. He photographed it five times over 2-3 minutes as it moved closer. The object made no sound and disappeared behind the house.
• Initial Analysis: Lucifora sent the film to Polaroid, which found no defects. The photos were then sent to CENAP, a German ufological organization, whose specialists deemed them 'intuitive' but not conclusive. Klaus Webner of CENAP estimated the object's size to be only a few centimeters and threatened legal action.
• Computerized Analysis (1993): The photos were analyzed by the German section of MUFON. Professor Manfred Kage concluded that the blurriness of the object's contours relative to its image size indicated it was very large and distant.
• Further Analysis (1995): Engineer Rolf-Dieter Klein's analysis excluded double exposures and confirmed that the color variations were consistent with the environment. He suggested the object was large and distant, noting that filters did not reveal any wires or supports, unlike models photographed at close range.
• Conclusion: Despite the lack of ground shadows, Klein concluded the object likely had a diameter of at least five meters. The article notes the difficulty in definitively concluding the validity of photographic cases, as even computer analysis can be unreliable. The analysis was performed on positive prints, not negatives. Efforts to locate Giuseppe Lucifora since 1989 have been unsuccessful.
• Future Prospects: The author expresses interest in locating the witness to obtain negatives for further analysis and to conduct a retrospective investigation, citing examples where such follow-ups have yielded surprising results.

Opinions: UFO: A Mystery to Study with Humility and Patience

This section features a letter from Pietro Torre, an ufologist from Milazzo, ME, and the editorial response.

Pietro Torre's Letter:

Torre expresses satisfaction with the magazine's role as a reference point for reader letters. He recommends two works for serious ufologists: Edward U. Condon's 'Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects' (1969) and William Corliss's 'The Book of Natural Mysteries' (1977). He believes these works, despite being less popular among some 'ufologists', reinforce the existence of UFOs and provide a scientific framework for understanding the phenomenon.

Torre's personal view on UFOs is that observations should be divided into reliable (minority) and unreliable (majority). For reliable cases, factors like the witness's expertise, visibility conditions, and other physical/psychological elements must be considered. He acknowledges that little remains after these filters, but it's sufficient to affirm that 'something inexplicable or not easily explainable, from time to time, happens'. He warns against mistaking anomalous natural phenomena (like ball lightning) or secret military prototypes for UFOs, noting that prototypes might exhibit exceptional performance but not be mass-produced.

• He also emphasizes the importance of caution in 'clipecial' research. Torre concludes with his personal conviction:
• There is much to study.
• There is little or nothing certain.
• There is much falsehood presented as truth, not only by commercial ufological magazines but also by 'serious' scientific publications that dismiss or ridicule the subject for career reasons.

Editorial Response:

The editorial staff acknowledges Torre's letter and notes the synchronicity of his emphasis on the scientific method with the editorial's own stance. They confirm the importance of Condon's work, despite its lack of Italian translation. Regarding Corliss, they agree that natural phenomena are often mistaken for UFOs but suggest Corliss's book could have benefited from more than just anecdotal mentions of electromagnetic effects and other anomalies. The response supports Torre's view that many scientists explain phenomena like crop circles or Hessdalen phenomena with terms like 'plasmoids' or 'cosmic antimatter packets' without demonstrating a causal link. The editorial staff aligns with Torre's position and reiterates the CISU's core message: 'There is much to study; there is little or nothing certain; there is much falsehood presented as truth.'

Who We Are, Where We Are

This section lists the members and collaborators of CISU Sicilia. Despite a national decline, membership in Sicily is growing. The list includes:

• SOCI (Members): Antonio Blanco (Regional Coordinator), Antonio Rampulla (Local Representative), Giuseppe Verdi (National Councilor), Salvo Briga, Santo Conte, Salvatore Foresta, Salvatore INGUI', Giuseppe Nativo, Ivan Noto, Sebastiano Pernice, Fabio Pescatori, Luca Raffaele, Alfredo Scalia, Francesco Spampinato, Fabio Stancanelli, Giancarlo Vispo.
• COLLABORATORI (Collaborators): Stefano Amico, Andrea Ardizzone.

Contact information (addresses and phone numbers) is provided for most individuals. The editorial and contact details for CISU Sicilia are also listed.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the rigorous investigation of UFO phenomena, the critical analysis of witness testimony, the importance of a scientific methodology in ufology, and the distinction between serious research and sensationalism. The editorial stance, as articulated by Antonio Blanco and echoed in the response to Pietro Torre's letter, is one of cautious optimism, advocating for a scientific, humble, and patient approach to understanding the UFO mystery, while acknowledging the prevalence of misinformation and the lack of definitive certainty.