In the hunt for proof that strange vehicles are flying through our atmosphere, possibly under the guidance of alien pilots, researchers have long looked to photographs. There are some, such as the McMinnville photos, that have become classics that continue to spark debate. Many have been passed through time by newspaper articles, books, magazines, documentaries, and websites. Of course, along with the photo, there is the story of the photographer, though getting that story straight might prove difficult.

In October of 1952, a story went across the newswires that a man in Italy had claimed to have taken pictures of a flying saucer and its occupant while climbing in the Bernina section of the Italian Alps. He told reporters that he saw a flying saucer land on a glacier. According to him, “a human shape wearing some sort of diving suit” got out, walked around the ship, and then got back in. The saucer rose up and “it took off without a sound at breathtaking speed.” He said he sold the photos to a French magazine.

The man was 29-year-old Italian engineer Gianpietro Monguzzi. His story is told in detail and his pictures are presented in the Sept.-Oct. 1958 issue of Flying Saucer Review. According to the article “Monguzzi Takes Saucer Photos of the Century,” written by Lou Zinstag, Monguzzi (first name given as Giampiero by Zinstag) worked as an engineer in Monza, near Milan, and was a member of the Edison Society of Italy. On July 31, 1952, he was hiking in the Bernina Mountains with his wife when they came across an object, shaped like a flying saucer, sitting on a glacier. Moguzzi wanted to get closer, but his wife was frightened and insisted he stay with her. He did so and took a series of pictures showing the saucer on the ground, a humanoid walking around it, and two “excellent photos of the ship’s departure.” Monguzzi ended up with a total of seven photos. At the top of the article, in a photo with a number two written on it, the saucer and the humanoid are both seen to have antennas.

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