The Zanfretta Abduction (1978)
The Zanfretta Abduction is a case of alleged alien abduction that occurred in Italy in the late 1970s. The incident involved a 26-year-old night watchman named Pier Fortunato Zanfretta, who worked for the private security company Val Bisagno and claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrial beings on multiple occasions. The case became widely known in Italy and remains one of the most discussed and controversial abduction reports in the country.
According to Zanfretta’s account, the first incident took place on December 6, 1978, while he was on duty patrolling an unoccupied villa known as “Casa Nostra,” owned by a local dentist, in the hamlet of Marzano di Torriglia in the hills near Genoa. At around 11:30 p.m., he noticed that the gate and front door were open and observed four unusual lights in the garden. Believing it was a burglary, he went to investigate. During this time, he radioed his supervisor in a state of panic, reportedly shouting repeatedly that the figures he was seeing were “not men,” before communication was suddenly lost.
Zanfretta was later found unconscious and in shock roughly an hour later, over a kilometer away from the villa. Colleagues noted that despite the cold and rainy conditions, his body was unusually warm and his clothes were dry. Only after undergoing regressive hypnosis weeks later did he begin to describe being taken aboard a craft and encountering non-human beings.
Under hypnosis, he described the beings as extremely tall, around three meters in height, with wrinkled or scaly greenish or grayish skin, large yellow triangular eyes, clawed limbs, pointed ears, and additional unusual features such as thorn-like protrusions and textured skin resembling a heavy, aged surface. He referred to them as “Dragos,” and claimed they came from a place called Teetonia, describing it as part of a “third galaxy.” He also stated that their world was dying and that they were evaluating Earth as a possible new habitat, while attempting to establish communication with humanity.
Zanfretta claimed a total of 11 encounters between 1978 and 1981. Specific incidents included December 27, 1978, when his car was reportedly stopped and controlled remotely, July 30, 1979, when he disappeared while on motorcycle patrol and was later found kilometers away near Mount Fasce, and December 2, 1979, among others extending into 1980 and possibly 1981. In several cases, he experienced missing time, was found disoriented, or displayed unusual physical conditions following the events.
He described being taken into brightly lit environments, and in some accounts underground locations, where he was subjected to painful medical-style examinations, including scans and injections. During one session, he also claimed to have received a physical object described as a transparent sphere containing a small glowing pyramid or tetrahedron inside, which he referred to as a message or gift for humanity.
The case also included reports of physical traces. Investigators documented a large semicircular imprint in the villa garden, measuring over two meters across, as well as unusually large footprints at later locations. A total of 52 independent reports from witnesses in the surrounding area described seeing bright lights or objects in the sky on the night of the first incident. The Carabinieri conducted an official investigation into the events.
Zanfretta stated that communication with the beings occurred telepathically. He underwent regressive hypnosis conducted by psychotherapist Mauro Moretti, as well as neurological evaluations that reportedly found no evidence of mental illness. In later sessions, including one conducted in Milan under the supervision of Professor Marco Marchesan, sodium pentothal was administered.
The case received extensive media coverage across Italy, including national television appearances, and Zanfretta briefly became a public figure. Over time, the repeated incidents reportedly impacted his personal life, including the loss of his gun license, relocation by his employer, and eventual loss of his job. He later spoke about ongoing stigma and claimed that some form of contact continued beyond the main period of encounters.
One of the primary accounts of the case is the book The Zanfretta Case: Chronicle of an Incredible True Story by journalist Rino Di Stefano, who followed the events closely from the beginning.
