Red sky and ufo duels
UFO invasion of Genoa (Italy) in 1608
"Marvelous and tremendous prodigies" on the Côte d'Azur in the 1600s
The yellowed and dusty manuscripts kept in the municipal archives of Nice prove to be authentic gold mines for fans of the "Fortian chronicles", because inform us that the Provençal town has repeatedly witnessed exceptional events over the centuries.
In 957 and 1139, the population was alarmed by "two suns" that crossed the sky. In 1147 a cross appeared on the lunar disk, while in 1217 three "flying crosses" floated in the sky over the city. In 1309, a "ball of fire" crossed the sky over Nice, while on 5 January 1433 a "luminous globe" hovered over the city for several hours. Finally, in the months of August and September 1743, a strange "comet" was visible for a long time to the southwest, casting a blood-red glow at night.
SCARY MARKS ON THE SEA
Among all the reports, one emerges in Provenzale (ancient French dialect of neo-Latin derivation) dated 1608 and entitled "Discourse on the terrible and frightening signs scattered on the sea of Genoa".
"At the beginning of August 1608
we read in the text,
two great prodigies took place: the rain of blood that fell on Nice and other coastal towns (of Provence) and the apparition in the sky of two men, dueling each other several times. The latter were observed for three days, with great astonishment, on the island of Martigues, five leagues from Marseilles. The prodigies that have appeared to us are undoubtedly the work of heavenly messengers, who foretell future misfortunes and invite us to run for cover, through prayers and fasting, in order to appease the wrath of God, whom we offend every day. Even the ancient Romans, as soon as they saw celestial omens, they made sacrifices to the gods to appease their wrath. And we who are Christians (and therefore brought up in a better school), must repent and humbly beg the Almighty to forgive our errors and so that the punishments prepared by divine justice may be turned away by Holy Mercy".
WARNING MANUSCRIPT
The reporter's words today can make us smile: however, let's not forget that the description of a UFO phenomenon, like all extraordinary and inexplicable manifestations, cannot be extrapolated from the cultural context of the time. It is therefore understandable, for those times, the fear that "omens in heaven" are harbingers of otherworldly punishments for sins that can, however, be canceled by prayers and penance.
"These wonderful prodigies
concludes the chronicler,
have touched the soul of many Christians who, having witnessed the divine marvels and having recognized that the Creator, power and infinite goodness, wants to warn us of the imminent punishment we deserve, have become more believers and do penance to appease the wrath of God. May the Holy Spirit assist them in this work of good will. So be it".
With this comment that gives a good idea of how terrified the coastal populations were because of the unusual events, the reporter ends his manuscript.
PICTURE VIEWING
A few years ago the French GEOS (Group d'Etudes des Objects Spatiaux) created very evocative illustrations of the extraordinary events of August 1608. At the beginning of the 17th century, Nice, the main port of the Piedmontese Kingdom, was experiencing a period of considerable prosperity. Protected by the great castle, the city had developed thanks to trade with neighboring countries.
The houses of rich shipowners, with long decorated balconies, overlooked the intense port traffic from the pier. At sunset on August 5, 1608, the inhabitants of Nice see three luminous shapes appear in the sky that move very quickly, heading towards the city. Once they reach the vertical line of the fortress, the three lights stop suddenly and descend slowly, making evolutions, up to about one meter from the surface of the sea.
A "SUIT" OF SILVER FLAKES
Stationing practically motionless above the waves, the three objects, with an elongated and flat ovoid shape and surmounted by a sort of mast (which today we could call an antenna), make water boil, with intense emission of orange-ocher vapour; all accompanied by a great crash. Suddenly, a being emerges from one of the devices and then a second, vaguely human in shape, dressed in a kind of red overalls covered with silver scales.
They were macrocephalic and, instead of eyes, had two luminous circular openings. The two entities sink into the water up to their hips. The arms vertically support two tubes, connected to the waist from which a ringed tube starts, like a belt, which connects to the back of the overalls.
For two hours, on this evening of August 5, 1608, the three bombs remain almost motionless compared to the two entities that emerged from inside. Around 10.00 pm the three celestial vessels, after having embarked the two beings, with an indescribable rumble and at great speed head eastwards in the night, becoming in a few seconds three luminous dots. Interpreting the phenomenon as a divine warning, the people of Nice poured into the streets of the city, parading in long religious processions until dawn on August 6, 1608.
GUNSHIP ON AIR VESSELS
On the morning of August 22nd, the three bombs that came from the sky appear in Genoa, again in front of the city's fort. The Genoese, already informed of what had happened in Nice 17 days earlier, reacted violently.
The citadel unleashes a tight artillery fire against the three vessels: 800 cannonballs are aimed at the bombs, but none of the three suffers the slightest damage, neither interrupts its evolutions.
However, in this case, no one tries to get out of the objects during the two and a half hours in which the phenomenon occurs. After about an hour of evolutions on the surface of the water, one of the bombs abruptly detaches from the group and focus on the city.
The population is seized by panic and numerous dead and wounded are recorded, some trampled by the crowd, others for still being exposed to the strange vessel.
After this demonstration, the three flying objects reunite again and head east at breakneck speed.
A BLOOD RAIN
Five days later, on August 25, 1608, in the sky over Martigues, a small fishing village located at the entrance to the Berre pond, another aircraft appeared, hovering over the houses for an hour and a half. Two entities emerge, very similar to those observed by the people of Nice on the evening of August 5th, which remain around the vessel and give the impression of challenging each other to a duel in the sky.
It is the latest such sighting in the region. The following week there was a heavy shower of blood-red rain. People considered the disturbing manifestations observed during August 1608 as a "divine revenge". The interpretation that could be given today to the strange phenomenon is the following: this region of southern France is rich in bauxite. The vortex of air created by the bombs at the moment of setting off again could have sucked up bauxite dust which, later, incorporated into the upper layers of the atmosphere by the clouds, would have given up its reddish color to the rain.
For the inhabitants of the region, in fact, the phenomenon is relatively frequent and today, by now, it doesn't surprise them that much.
LETHAL SOUND FREQUENCIES
For forty days the chapels, churches and cathedrals of the whole region, from Martigues to Genoa, saw huge crowds of pilgrims come to pray, day and night. Believers and non-believers alike join in the same intense prayer, asking God for forgiveness which will prevent them from repeating the strange and tragic visions of which they were astonished as involuntary witnesses. At this point each of us will certainly have formulated his own interpretation of the curious phenomena that took place almost four centuries ago on the splendid "Cote d'Azur".
However, I believe it is appropriate to report in this context the opinion of the French scholar Guy Tarade, which we find in his book "Soucoupes Volantes et Civizations d'outreespace".
We quote verbatim:
"This long and meticulous chronicle confirms that the events of August 1608 are of decisive importance for the study of UFOs of the past. This is because the objectivity of the sightings is not questioned, as the crash that accompanied the passage of the mysterious bombs over Genoa caused the death of several people. The sound vibrations emanating from the UFOs were evidently in a frequency range dangerous to humans. The son of Gasparino De Loro and the brother of Antonio Bagatello, for example, were killed by those terrible acoustic waves, like many women of the city."
Again:
"The "scaled" suit, worn by the pilots who floated in the sky with "individual thrusters" (the so-called "flying snakes"), incredibly reminiscent of that of the current cosmonauts. Another factor certifying the reality of the visual and sound manifestations is the intense artillery fire that the Piedmontese army fired to defend the port of Nice from these mysterious amphibious devices."
Regarding the "rain of blood", the transalpine author has his own hypothesis, which differs somewhat from the one suggested by GEOS:
"One can think, when the "rain of blood" fell after three days almost everywhere on the coast, that the stormy events, typically seasonal, have included oxidation microparticles, left over from the propulsion system of the bombs themselves"
What more can be inferred from such a description? asks the French expert Were the UFOs that terrorized the Provençal and Genoese in 1608 the same ones that still visit our skies more and more frequently today?
Bibliography: Municipal archives of Nice year 1608 Review "Les Extraterrestres", Edition du Cercle Français de Recherches Ufologiques, Rebais. Guy Tarade, "Soucoupes Volantes and Civilizations d'outreespace".
