Inconsistency · I-G-03

Magenta 1933: the Vatican absent from Pinotti's documents

David Grusch

Weight: Substantial

First version

1996 · Roberto Pinotti's account of the notes received anonymously in 1996 places the crash or landing near Magenta in 1933, the storage in the SIAI-Marchetti hangars at Vergiate, and the transfer to the United States after the site was taken by the U.S. 1st Armored Division in April 1945, with no role for the Vatican or Pius XII. Roberto Pinotti, “The UFO Files of Mussolini,” account of the documents received in 1996 (The Black Vault)

Second version

Jun 2023 · Grusch claims that the craft retrieved in Italy in 1933 by Mussolini's government was reported by Pope Pius XII to the United States through confidential channels and that the Americans took possession of it in 1944–45; he presents the case as the oldest one of which he has been informed. Newsweek, Grusch, the Vatican and the craft recovered in Italy (August 2, 2023)

Analysis

Grusch's version combines three levels: the documents of the “Gabinetto RS/33,” which emerged in 1996 from a single anonymous source and are of disputed authenticity (the paper and ink tests were commissioned by the association co-founded by Pinotti and, according to Metabunk, the expert's report admits that there are no reliable dating methods); the American capture in 1945, present in Pinotti's account; the Vatican channel, which is not in those documents and which, according to Metabunk, appears in letters from William Brophy Jr. to Flying Saucer Review dated after 2004. An innocent explanation is that Grusch was informed by an independent classified source, with details absent from the Italian documents: it would be a fourth source, unverifiable. The alternative is that his sources picked up later, elaborated versions of the story. In 2026 a Vatican source with access to the archives, cited anonymously by NewsNation, found no references to the episode or to any communications to a pope, which is not a definitive denial.

Sources

1. Roberto Pinotti, “The UFO Files of Mussolini,” account of the documents received in 1996 (The Black Vault) (primary source, pro-disclosure)
2. Newsweek, Grusch, the Vatican and the craft recovered in Italy (August 2, 2023) (press)

On this site

People 1

• David Grusch

Claims 2

• David Grusch: Claims that the oldest case he was informed of is a craft recovered in Italy in 1933 by Mussolini's… Unverifiable
• David Grusch: Claims that Pope Pius XII informed the United States through confidential channels of the existence of the… Unverifiable

Cases 1

• Magenta 1933: the alleged retrieval of a disc, known only from anonymous papers Disputed explanation

Where the claims come from 1

• In 1933 a non-human craft crashed near Magenta and was studied by Mussolini's “Gabinetto RS/33”; Pius XII…

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UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.