September 28, 2025 • 7 mins
In the last couple of blogs, we looked at the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena 1978 UFO Chronology, which was unusual for the large number of humanoid reports with space suits, helmets and antennas in the descriptions. We also noted that there seemed to have been a flap in Italy in December and that one case listed that month is worthy of individual attention. The principal witness/experiencer was Piero Fortunato Zanfretta, and his story was investigated by Italian journalist Rino Di Stefano, who wrote a book about it that he published in 2014 titled The Zanfretta Case. Read more →
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
The case of Bierrero for ganano' Zamfretta by Charles Lear.
In the last couple of blogs, we looked at the
National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena nineteen seventy eight UFO chronology,
which was unusual for the large number of humanoid reports
with spacesuits, helmets and antennas in the descriptions. We also
noted that there seemed to have been a flap in
(00:46):
Italy in December and that one case listed that month
is worthy of individual attention. The principal witness experiencer was
Buerrero for Cenano Zamfretta, and his story was investigated by
Italian journalist Renowed dec Stefano, who wrote a book about
it that he published in twenty fourteen titled the sam
Freda Case. According to di Stefano on his website promoting
(01:09):
the book, we have read the book and recommend it.
He isn't a eupologist. He says that at the time
of the incident he was working at the Genoa Courier
Mercantile and looked into the case as a reporter. He
then gives his account on December sixth, nineteen seventy eight,
just after midnight. Sam Freda, a private security guard, was
(01:30):
on patrol in his Fiat one twenty six on a
dark and moonless night near Genoa in the village of Tariglia.
It was very cold and the roads were icy after
a snowfall that day. As he came up to a
client's empty country house in Marzano, his engine, lights and
radio stop, he saw four lights moving around in the
(01:50):
garden and got out to investigate, bringing along his gun
and flashlight. He went through a gate and moved along
a wall in an attempt to surprise whoever might be there.
He then felt something touching him from behind. He turned
around and was filled with terror as he found himself
inches away from what he described as an enormous, green, ugly,
(02:11):
and frightful creature with unlitting skin no less than ten
feet tall. Samfreda dropped his flashlight out of fright when
the beam from it hit the creature's face, but he
managed to pick it up as he turned and ran.
As he was doing so, he noted that there was
a large bright.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Light behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was
coming from a triangular craft that made a hissing sound
and was bigger than the house that rose up behind.
He said later that he felt an intense heat. Zamfredo
went to his car and called the security center. According
to Di Stefano, Carlo Topolino, the radio operator, testified that
(02:51):
Samfreda kept repeating excitedly, by God, are they ugly, and
when asked if they were humans, said no, they aren't men,
they aren't men. Just before communication was lost, Tocolino called
the head of the security service, and an hour later,
at one fifteen a m. Two guards found Zamfretta lying
(03:11):
on the ground in front of the house, eyes bulging,
with gun and flashlight in hand. He jumped to his
feet when he saw them and didn't seem to recognize
or understand them when they told him to lower his gun.
The guards moved in to disarm him and were surprised
to find that his clothes were warm in spite of
the cold night. The Carabagnieri, the Italian military police, investigated
(03:35):
and found nine feet diameter orseshoe shaped imprints in back
of the house. The commandant of the Treglia station and
Toni Onuki, found that fifty two residents there had witnessed
a bright glare from the area of the house at
the time of Zamfreti's reported encounter. The story made the
local papers, and die Stefano says that while most journalists
(03:56):
didn't want to look into it too closely, he decided
to because he didn't believe that a responsible family man
with a good reputation would put his shop at risk
with such a ridiculous story. He was also moved by
the fifty two witnesses discovered by Nuki. According to Di Stefano,
the head of sam Freda's company, believed he was an
(04:17):
honest man, but was worried about bad publicity. Samfredas said
to have seemed shy.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And uneasy, and dove said people call me on the
phone at all hours just to play jokes on me.
I don't know what it was that I saw it,
but I saw it. I am not a liar. Samfreda
agreed to be hypnotized, and what came out breaths like
an extremely bizarre combination of the contactee in abduction experience.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
He said he was taken by monsters about ten feet
tall with hairy green skin, yellow triangular eyes, and red
veins across the forehead that took him to a bright
hot place where they examined him.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
They told him they were from the Third Galaxy, wanted
to talk to the people of Earth, and would return
soon in greater numbers. They didn't speak Italian and used
a luminous device to translate. According to Di Stefano, Samfretta
went missing three nights.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Later, on December twenty sixth, at eleven forty five p m.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
After calling in to say that his car was no
longer in his control and was driving itself. Coming out
of the Barkhagly Tunnel. He said over the radio that
he couldn't see well because of the fall. As the
car continued moving up a steep road.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
After a mile, the car stopped abruptly and Samfretta hid
his head on the steering wheel.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Speaking to the radio operator in a very controlled voice,
he said, the car has stopped. I saw a bright light.
Now I am getting out. Samfretta was found by his
co workers in a field at one ten a m.
Even though it was raining, his clothes and head were
warm and dry. He was scared, shaking and crying and said,
(06:00):
they say I must leave with them, what about my children.
I don't want to. I don't want to the Kropignieri recalled,
and when they examined the car, they found that its
roof felt like it had been out in the sun
all day and its interior was as hot as an oven.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
They also discovered huge footprints all around it that were
twenty inches long and eight inches wide, with a distinct
empty spot between soul and heel. Zamfretta's gun was found
to have been fired five times, but he didn't remember
who for what he'd fired at. Nuki sent an official
report to the Genoa Magistrate's Court to find out what
(06:39):
sort of action should be taken, and it ended.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Up being filed away with this declaration no crime committed. Meanwhile,
this latest episode created a lot of media interest, and
Zamfretta ended up getting hypnotized on local television, which led
to him appearing on national television.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
His story went beyond Italy and gained worldwide attention, but
there were still more episodes to come next week, more
strangeness and more evidence.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
For detailed account of Zanfreda's first encounter see page five
of the volume twenty five number one Flying Saucer Review.
Charles Lear is the author of The Flying Saucer Investigators
available in its second edition at Amazon dot Com.
The case of Bierrero for ganano' Zamfretta by Charles Lear.
In the last couple of blogs, we looked at the
National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena nineteen seventy eight UFO chronology,
which was unusual for the large number of humanoid reports
with spacesuits, helmets and antennas in the descriptions. We also
noted that there seemed to have been a flap in
(00:46):
Italy in December and that one case listed that month
is worthy of individual attention. The principal witness experiencer was
Buerrero for Cenano Zamfretta, and his story was investigated by
Italian journalist Renowed dec Stefano, who wrote a book about
it that he published in twenty fourteen titled the sam
Freda Case. According to di Stefano on his website promoting
(01:09):
the book, we have read the book and recommend it.
He isn't a eupologist. He says that at the time
of the incident he was working at the Genoa Courier
Mercantile and looked into the case as a reporter. He
then gives his account on December sixth, nineteen seventy eight,
just after midnight. Sam Freda, a private security guard, was
(01:30):
on patrol in his Fiat one twenty six on a
dark and moonless night near Genoa in the village of Tariglia.
It was very cold and the roads were icy after
a snowfall that day. As he came up to a
client's empty country house in Marzano, his engine, lights and
radio stop, he saw four lights moving around in the
(01:50):
garden and got out to investigate, bringing along his gun
and flashlight. He went through a gate and moved along
a wall in an attempt to surprise whoever might be there.
He then felt something touching him from behind. He turned
around and was filled with terror as he found himself
inches away from what he described as an enormous, green, ugly,
(02:11):
and frightful creature with unlitting skin no less than ten
feet tall. Samfreda dropped his flashlight out of fright when
the beam from it hit the creature's face, but he
managed to pick it up as he turned and ran.
As he was doing so, he noted that there was
a large bright.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Light behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was
coming from a triangular craft that made a hissing sound
and was bigger than the house that rose up behind.
He said later that he felt an intense heat. Zamfredo
went to his car and called the security center. According
to Di Stefano, Carlo Topolino, the radio operator, testified that
(02:51):
Samfreda kept repeating excitedly, by God, are they ugly, and
when asked if they were humans, said no, they aren't men,
they aren't men. Just before communication was lost, Tocolino called
the head of the security service, and an hour later,
at one fifteen a m. Two guards found Zamfretta lying
(03:11):
on the ground in front of the house, eyes bulging,
with gun and flashlight in hand. He jumped to his
feet when he saw them and didn't seem to recognize
or understand them when they told him to lower his gun.
The guards moved in to disarm him and were surprised
to find that his clothes were warm in spite of
the cold night. The Carabagnieri, the Italian military police, investigated
(03:35):
and found nine feet diameter orseshoe shaped imprints in back
of the house. The commandant of the Treglia station and
Toni Onuki, found that fifty two residents there had witnessed
a bright glare from the area of the house at
the time of Zamfreti's reported encounter. The story made the
local papers, and die Stefano says that while most journalists
(03:56):
didn't want to look into it too closely, he decided
to because he didn't believe that a responsible family man
with a good reputation would put his shop at risk
with such a ridiculous story. He was also moved by
the fifty two witnesses discovered by Nuki. According to Di Stefano,
the head of sam Freda's company, believed he was an
(04:17):
honest man, but was worried about bad publicity. Samfredas said
to have seemed shy.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And uneasy, and dove said people call me on the
phone at all hours just to play jokes on me.
I don't know what it was that I saw it,
but I saw it. I am not a liar. Samfreda
agreed to be hypnotized, and what came out breaths like
an extremely bizarre combination of the contactee in abduction experience.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
He said he was taken by monsters about ten feet
tall with hairy green skin, yellow triangular eyes, and red
veins across the forehead that took him to a bright
hot place where they examined him.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
They told him they were from the Third Galaxy, wanted
to talk to the people of Earth, and would return
soon in greater numbers. They didn't speak Italian and used
a luminous device to translate. According to Di Stefano, Samfretta
went missing three nights.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Later, on December twenty sixth, at eleven forty five p m.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
After calling in to say that his car was no
longer in his control and was driving itself. Coming out
of the Barkhagly Tunnel. He said over the radio that
he couldn't see well because of the fall. As the
car continued moving up a steep road.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
After a mile, the car stopped abruptly and Samfretta hid
his head on the steering wheel.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Speaking to the radio operator in a very controlled voice,
he said, the car has stopped. I saw a bright light.
Now I am getting out. Samfretta was found by his
co workers in a field at one ten a m.
Even though it was raining, his clothes and head were
warm and dry. He was scared, shaking and crying and said,
(06:00):
they say I must leave with them, what about my children.
I don't want to. I don't want to the Kropignieri recalled,
and when they examined the car, they found that its
roof felt like it had been out in the sun
all day and its interior was as hot as an oven.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
They also discovered huge footprints all around it that were
twenty inches long and eight inches wide, with a distinct
empty spot between soul and heel. Zamfretta's gun was found
to have been fired five times, but he didn't remember
who for what he'd fired at. Nuki sent an official
report to the Genoa Magistrate's Court to find out what
(06:39):
sort of action should be taken, and it ended.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Up being filed away with this declaration no crime committed. Meanwhile,
this latest episode created a lot of media interest, and
Zamfretta ended up getting hypnotized on local television, which led
to him appearing on national television.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
His story went beyond Italy and gained worldwide attention, but
there were still more episodes to come next week, more
strangeness and more evidence.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
For detailed account of Zanfreda's first encounter see page five
of the volume twenty five number one Flying Saucer Review.
Charles Lear is the author of The Flying Saucer Investigators
available in its second edition at Amazon dot Com.
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