“They Are Not Human”: Pier Zanfretta’s Eleven Abductions, Italy, 1978–1981
At 11:30 on the night of December 6, 1978, it was a cold winter night in Torriglia (Torriglia), in the province of Genoa, Italy. Twenty-six-year-old security guard Pier Zanfretta (Pier Fortunato Zanfretta) was on a routine patrol. He had been hired to watch an empty villa called “Our Home” (Casa Nostra). He had walked this route countless times: once around the wall, check the doors and windows, punch the clock. Nothing could be more tedious.
But tonight was different.
The Scream on the Radio
Suddenly the engine of Zanfretta’s patrol car died, the headlights went out, and the radio fell silent—as if something had drained the power from the whole vehicle. Zanfretta swore, picked up his flashlight and pistol, and got out to look. In a corner of the villa garden he noticed four strange lights—not ordinary lights, but an unfamiliar greenish glow.
He thought it was a thief. He crouched and crept along the low wall, meaning to climb up and see what was there.
Just then, a hand came down on his shoulder from behind.
Zanfretta spun around—he would never forget what he saw: a huge being more than 3 meters tall standing right in front of him. It had green, leathery, rough skin, a face full of wrinkles, and yellow triangular eyes that gave off an eerie glimmer in the dark. Its fingers ended in claws. Its mouth was sealed by something like a metal band. Raised red blood vessels stood out on its forehead, and horn-like projections rose on both cheeks.
Zanfretta grabbed the radio—his only hope—and, at the top of his lungs, shouted to headquarters the most famous call in the history of UFO research: “They are not human… they are not human!” (No, they’re not men… they’re not men!)
The radio went dead.
Three Hours of Fear
When backup colleagues from the security company arrived, they found Zanfretta lying face down on the frozen ground, unconscious. His pistol had a round chambered, but he had not fired a shot. His clothes were inexplicably warm and dry in below-zero temperatures. In the time between their call to the command center and their arrival at the scene—his captain later confirmed this in testimony—Zanfretta had been missing for three hours.
The evidence at the scene was baffling: a semicircular depression in the ground, about 9 feet across, and vegetation scorched in several places. Most shocking was a trail of huge footprints—each print 20 inches long and claw-shaped—running into the woods in the distance and then vanishing abruptly.
Zanfretta was not the only one who saw something unusual that night. More than 50 residents of nearby towns called the police to report a strange, egg-shaped glowing object moving over Torriglia.
The First Hypnosis: Memories Pour Out
Accompanied by the police, Zanfretta underwent hypnotic regression. Under hypnosis he described a chilling experience: the huge green being picked him up like a chicken and carried him into a huge triangular craft—about 30 meters wide—hovering above the villa. He saw more beings of the same kind. They communicated with him by telepathy and scanned his body with some kind of device. The inside of the craft was filled with cold blue light.
They told him they came from a planet called “Teetonia” (Teetonia), in “the Third Galaxy.” They said they were observing humanity, and that Zanfretta had been “chosen.”
A Nightmare for the Rest of His Life
The first abduction was only the beginning of the nightmare. Over the next three years, Zanfretta was abducted at least 11 times by the same beings—almost always during his night-shift patrols.
On December 26, 1978—only three days after the hypnosis—he suddenly lost control as his patrol vehicle passed through a tunnel, and the vehicle was taken over by some force. Two hours later he was found in a nearby field, repeating over and over, “They said I have to go with them. What about my children?” It was raining that day, but his clothes were dry again.
On July 30, 1979, while he was patrolling on a motorcycle, he vanished from the monitors for two hours. He was found on Mount Fasce (Mount Fasce), two kilometers away, with no memory of how he had gotten there. Hypnosis showed that a beam of green light had lifted him off the ground and carried him into a craft.
December 2, 1979, February 12, 1980… again and again. Each time, under hypnosis, Zanfretta recalled what he had experienced aboard the craft: walking through metal corridors, being injected, being scanned with strange devices, being questioned telepathically by the green giants. He said he had tried to resist—he even drew his pistol—but they paralyzed him instantly with some kind of force.
The Police Response and the Investigation
Unlike witnesses in many UFO cases who are dismissed by officials, Zanfretta was taken seriously by the local police. Antonio Nucchi (Antonio Nucchi), the police chief of Torriglia, stated personally: “I know Zanfretta. I believe his testimony.” Forensic experts confirmed that the physiological responses Zanfretta showed under hypnosis fully matched the symptoms of genuine trauma—not a bodily reaction an actor could fake.
The police collected plaster casts of the footprints, soil samples, and photographs at the scene. UFO researchers also produced detailed reports. The Zanfretta case may be one of the best-documented alien-abduction investigations in Italian history.
But the “end” of the case came with a certain irony: the police station revoked Zanfretta’s armed security permit, on the grounds that he was “involved in too many anomalous incidents.” That decision ended Zanfretta’s career as a security guard and interrupted his night-shift patrols, and the 11 abductions stopped there.
Years later, Zanfretta still stood by his testimony in several interviews. His is not the story of a man trying to persuade anyone—he would rather live an ordinary life. He has not written a book or gone on a lecture tour. When he occasionally gives an interview, it is only because he feels that “the world should know.” For him, the memories of being taken aboard the craft again and again during those three years are as clear as yesterday.
The most unsettling part of the Pier Zanfretta case may not be the 20-inch claw prints, the triangular craft, or the name Teetonia from “the Third Galaxy.” When a man says “they are not human,” what would it mean if he is right; and if he is wrong, how are we to explain the names and the footprints that can never be erased?
Related Videos
Documentary: The Zanfretta Case—Italy’s Most Disturbing UFO Abduction
The feature documentary above, from the Inside the Mistery channel, reconstructs in detail Zanfretta’s 11 abductions from the first in 1978 through 1981, including police investigation records, hypnotic-regression recordings, and analysis of the physical evidence at the scene.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What physical evidence is there in the Zanfretta case?
Claw-like footprints 20 inches long, a semicircular depression in the ground 9 feet in diameter, scorched vegetation, and independent eyewitness testimony from more than 50 residents (an egg-shaped glowing object). Zanfretta’s clothes were unusually dry and warm in below-zero conditions.
What kind of aliens did Zanfretta see?
Giant beings about 3 meters tall, with rough green leathery skin, yellow triangular eyes, clawed fingers, a metal seal over the mouth, raised red blood vessels on the forehead, and horns on the cheeks. They communicated by telepathy.
Where did the aliens say they came from?
Under hypnosis Zanfretta reported that they came from a planet called “Teetonia” (Teetonia), in “the Third Galaxy.” Their purpose was to observe humanity.
Why did the police believe him?
The police chief of Torriglia personally came forward to say he trusted Zanfretta’s testimony. Forensic examiners confirmed that his physiological responses under hypnosis were consistent with genuine trauma. Several independent witnesses and physical evidence at the scene supported his account.
