Florence stadium sighting
During a match between Fiorentina and Pistoiese, the crowd and players stopped to stare at objects crossing the sky over the stadium. Witnesses described slow-moving "eggs" or fast "cigars" that stopped dead. Silvery filaments drifted down onto the ground and dissolved when touched. The same day two shining objects were reported over Venice, and sightings followed across Tuscany.
Explanation
Proposed explanations include migrating spiders' silk (angel hair) catching the sunlight. A sample analysed by University of Florence chemists was reported to contain boron, silicon, calcium and magnesium, which does not fit spider silk. The sample was not preserved.
What was seen
Shape: Egg- or cigar-shaped objects; falling silvery filaments
Witnesses: About 10,000 spectators and the players
Duration: A few minutes
Sources
Browse
- Italy
- 1950s
- Disputed
- Mass sightings
- Many independent witnesses
- Physical traces
- Spheres and orbs
- Cylinders and cigar shapes