Vico entity encounter — 1952-07-24

Carlo Rossi, a farmer aged 53, reportedly encountered an unusual machine while fishing on the Serchio near San Pietro a Vico, outside Lucca. The story appeared in La Nazione on 26 September 1952, about two months after the alleged event. Later accounts vary between 24 and 25 July, with additional month discrepancies, so a precise day remains disputed. The principal version places him beside the river around 03:00. Rossi described an approximately 20-metre disc with a transparent central turret, orange-lit slits, several lower propellers and three differently sized rotors above it. A hose extended into the water. He said a human face inside a diving-style helmet looked through an opening and pointed toward him; a green ray then caused a shock, and he fled or lay on the ground as the object departed. These mechanical details differ markedly from a standard featureless saucer and should remain part of the reported story. Later versions added an encounter with a foreign-accented stranger and an offered cigarette, but disagree over its timing and significance. Those claims are a separate episode, not corroboration of the river encounter. Jimmy Guieu expressed doubts, and source comparisons raise the possibility of witness invention or a journalistic prank. No verified machine, photograph or independent witness establishes the event. The plate shows the river scene before the alleged ray, with the human-looking helmeted face and unusual propeller craft.