Mt. Etna, Sicily entity encounter — July 4, 1978

Four people reported an encounter on the slopes of Mount Etna, sometimes identified more specifically as Mount Sona, on July 4, 1978. Later accounts name Attilio Di Salvatore, Franco Padellero, Maurizio Esposito and a fourth person whose name and gender vary between versions. Several witnesses were associated with the armed forces, but the summaries do not justify presenting all four as a uniformed military patrol. The reported episode occurred during an evening outing, around 10:30 p.m. They described three pulsating red lights near or behind a ridge. After approaching, they allegedly saw a saucer about 12 metres across, brightly illuminated in red and yellow, with a translucent or transparent dome. Two tall, humanlike figures with long golden hair and white robes stood near it. Three or four smaller figures wore helmeted suits. Their clothing is variously described as space suits or diver-like outfits; the sources do not consistently preserve facial details. The tall figures reportedly made gestures. Later retellings differ over whether the witnesses were immobilized, how they approached and how the observation ended. One version says the craft dimmed its lights when another car passed. These details cannot all be treated as independently confirmed stages of a single established sequence. Richard Hall’s published review noted the witnesses’ prior exposure to contactee teachings, an important qualification often omitted from later summaries. Patrick Gross consequently regarded a contactee-related invention as plausible. That is a critical evaluation, not a demonstrated confession or independently proven hoax. Other Sicilian sightings during 1978 do not verify the occupants reported in this particular episode.