Viterbo entity encounter — January 13, 1979

Farmer Vittorio Mancini, 50, reportedly saw an intensely luminous object descend near Viterbo, Italy, on January 13, 1979. Contemporary press-derived accounts place him about 12 kilometres outside the city, tending animals, with the object around 500 metres away. A local catalogue gives 16:00; later NICAP wording calls it evening. The timing should therefore not be made more precise than the sources allow. He described a red-orange ball that dimmed until a metallic sphere about two metres across became visible. A small man in a silvery-white suit reportedly emerged and walked nearby, repeatedly bending as if collecting something. That interpretation of the movements does not establish that samples were taken. No clear facial features or specific tool are supplied in the located accounts. Mancini reportedly went back to his car to seek other people; the local catalogue adds that it would not start. His observation circulated through January 1979 newspaper coverage and BUFORA's June 1979 journal. Separate photographs taken around Viterbo the same day belong to other witnesses and do not directly document his alleged occupant. The reconstruction follows the sphere and small suited figure, uses afternoon light, and acknowledges compressed perspective and the substantial reported viewing distance.