Casale Monferrato entity encounter — April 16, 1974

Mauro Bellingeri and his wife Carla reported the encounter while returning from a village festival shortly after midnight on April 16, 1974. Near their home at Santa Maria del Tempio, outside Casale Monferrato, a bright moving object descended and stopped above the house. Mauro opened the garage while Carla initially remained in the car; she then joined him outside. In the account recorded four days later, the object hovered roughly 12–13 metres above the building. They described a brilliantly illuminated transparent hemisphere with a separate-looking flattened ring at its base. Red, yellow and green lights revolved around the ring. Three occupants stood in a row inside the dome, wearing opaque, globular gray helmets with projecting fittings near the front, likened to a diver’s breathing apparatus. Their faces were not visible. One turned toward the couple, then all three turned together, giving the impression that their platform had rotated. Later summaries vary between three and four occupants. The couple said jets appeared underneath, a pulsing whistling sound began, and the ring accelerated. The object moved away toward the northeast, producing a gust strong enough for Mauro to brace himself against the car while Carla ran indoors. The episode lasted about two or three minutes. Renzo Cabassi’s published investigation reported no abnormal radioactivity on the car, clothing or surroundings. Spots subsequently noticed on the vehicle had possible ordinary explanations; they do not establish a physical effect from a craft.