Within Liguria UFOs
What Were the Savona and Loano Videos?
Recent Savona and Loano claims show how phone footage can turn quickly from local curiosity into UFO controversy.
On this page
- The 2016 and 2024 sighting claims
- What witnesses and UFO groups said
- Why video alone rarely settles the case
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Introduction
The Savona and Loano video sightings are best understood as a modern Ligurian UFO dispute rather than a settled case. In 2016, local and regional outlets reported a small cluster of video-led sightings over Savona: spheres filmed at night, a fast yellowish sphere crossing from the sea towards the hills, two objects moving towards the sea, and a metallic-looking object appearing during a Moon shot. In 2024, the focus shifted west along the coast to Savona and Loano, where witnesses and the private UFO group ARIA described luminous spherical objects, including grey metallic spheres allegedly surrounded by a glow. The dispute matters because it shows how contemporary UFO claims in Liguria now often begin with phone or camera footage, then become contested through media amplification, private interpretation and the lack of independently testable data. The available public evidence does not confirm extraordinary craft; it supports a cautious conclusion: locally notable, visually intriguing, but unresolved and weakly documented.
Why Savona and Loano became a modern UFO corridor
Savona and Loano sit on a stretch of Ligurian coast where the geography helps sightings travel quickly from local observation to public claim. The sea gives long sightlines, the hills create changing viewing angles, and bright objects can appear to move oddly when seen against a simple sky or sea horizon. That does not make the area “alien”; it makes it a good place for ambiguous aerial observations to be noticed, filmed and argued over.
The modern public record begins before the 2024 reports. In August to October 2016, the Centro Ufologico Mediterraneo said it had collected four cases in the skies above Savona, later publicised before a national UFO conference in the city. ANSA reported the sequence as follows: three spheres filmed with a night viewer on 3 August; a fast yellowish sphere filmed five days later, crossing Savona from the sea towards the mountains; two objects filmed on 15 September moving towards the sea; and, on 11 October, an apparently metallic and luminous object appearing while the Moon was being filmed.[ANSA.it]ansa.itFotografati Ufo nei cieli di SavonaFotografati Ufo nei cieli di Savona
That 2016 cluster gave Savona a stronger place in Liguria’s video-era UFO folklore. Primocanale carried the same basic sequence, stressing that the cases were being presented as four sightings in three months and would be discussed at Savona’s first national UFO conference.[Primocanale]primocanale.itOpen source on primocanale.it. IVG also framed the reports as an “ondada” or wave of sightings over Savona, giving the story a local-media life beyond a single clip.[IVG]ivg.itondata avvistamenti ufo nei cieli savona quattro casi mesiondata avvistamenti ufo nei cieli savona quattro casi mesi
The 2024 reports then widened the public frame from Savona alone to the Savona-Loano coastal stretch. ANSA reported on 28 February 2024 that some citizens in Savona and Loano said they had seen and filmed luminous spherical objects, by day and by night. The interpretation quoted in that report came from Angelo Maggioni, founder of ARIA, who described some objects as grey metallic spheres that seemed to absorb sunlight and were surrounded by luminous energy masking their shape.[ANSA.it]ansa.itAria, segnalati alcuni Ufo nei cieli di Savona e LoanoAria, segnalati alcuni Ufo nei cieli di Savona e Loano
The 2016 and 2024 sighting claims
The two most useful dates for understanding the dispute are 2016 and 2024, because they show the same basic pattern at different stages of the smartphone-video age: a small set of local recordings, a UFO group’s interpretation, and media coverage that made the claims visible beyond the original witnesses.
In 2016, the Savona reports were presented as four separate episodes over a few months. The descriptions were varied rather than identical: night-viewer spheres, a yellowish sphere moving from sea to hills, two fast objects heading seaward, and a metallic-looking object captured during Moon filming. That variety matters. It weakens the idea of one simple repeated object, but it also weakens any attempt to treat the cluster as a single coherent phenomenon. Public reporting did not provide enough technical detail — exact camera settings, original files, angular size, full observing location, sky direction, independent corroboration or aviation checks — to decide whether the videos showed balloons, aircraft, satellites, birds, drones, camera artefacts or something less ordinary.[ANSA.it]ansa.itFotografati Ufo nei cieli di SavonaFotografati Ufo nei cieli di Savona
In 2024, the claim became more dramatic in language. ANSA’s report quoted ARIA as excluding conventional explanations such as aircraft, drones and natural phenomena, while Maggioni suggested an extraterrestrial origin and speculated about static energy, atmospheric ionisation and a “bubble” allowing movement.[ANSA.it]ansa.itAria, segnalati alcuni Ufo nei cieli di Savona e LoanoAria, segnalati alcuni Ufo nei cieli di Savona e Loano Il Fatto Quotidiano repeated the central description of luminous spherical objects in the Savona-Loano area and presented Maggioni’s interpretation, including the suggestion that conventional explanations did not fit.[Il Fatto Quotidiano]ilfattoquotidiano.itIl Fatto Quotidiano Ufo avvistati nei cieli di Savona e Loano: "Sfere metallicheIl Fatto Quotidiano Ufo avvistati nei cieli di Savona e Loano: "Sfere metalliche
That leap from “unidentified in a video” to “extraterrestrial” is the core of the dispute. A video may be enough to justify curiosity, especially when several people report similar shapes. It is not enough, on its own, to establish origin, propulsion or material structure. The public articles available for the Savona-Loano claims do not show that the original recordings were released with full metadata, triangulated against other viewpoints, checked against all air and maritime activity, or analysed by a neutral technical body.
What witnesses and UFO groups said
The witness claims, as reported, centre on shape, brightness and movement. The 2024 objects were described as luminous spheres seen in daylight and at night; some were characterised as grey metallic spheres with a surrounding glow. In the strongest ARIA interpretation, the objects were said to move silently and to suggest a form of unconventional propulsion.[ANSA.it]ansa.itAria, segnalati alcuni Ufo nei cieli di Savona e LoanoAria, segnalati alcuni Ufo nei cieli di Savona e Loano
For readers, the important distinction is between observation and interpretation. “A bright spherical object was filmed” is an observational claim. “It was extraterrestrial” is an interpretive claim. “It used magnetic propulsion” or “ionised the surrounding atmosphere” is a technical claim requiring evidence well beyond a visual recording. In the public material, the interpretive claims are much stronger than the evidence presented.
ARIA and Maggioni have been recurring figures in the Savona-area story, not one-off commentators. Earlier local coverage in 2022 reported Maggioni discussing several Savona-area sightings between late October and early November, including bright spherical objects at Bergeggi and Sanda, while also acknowledging possible natural “globular” or plasma-like phenomena for some video cases and referring to the need for caution in UFO discussion.[Eco di Savona]ecodisavona.itEco di Savona Ufo: ritorno nel SavoneseEco di Savona Ufo: ritorno nel Savonese This is useful because it shows that the Savona-Loano dispute sits inside a longer local pattern of private UFO investigation, not simply a sudden 2024 media invention.
However, private UFO-group analysis is not the same as official confirmation. Italy’s public OVNI process is handled by the Italian Air Force for flight-safety and national-security purposes. The Air Force says witnesses can submit a form through the nearest Carabinieri station; after checks against human activity or natural phenomena, a case is published as unidentified only if no technical or natural justification can be found.[Aeronautica Militare]aeronautica.difesa.itAeronautica Militare OVNIAeronautica Militare OVNI The Savona and Loano media reports discussed here should therefore be read as local and private claims unless matched to an official Air Force entry or a similarly transparent technical file.
Why video alone rarely settles the case
The Savona-Loano dispute is a good example of a broader problem: modern UFO footage often looks persuasive while withholding the very information needed to interpret it. A small bright object against a blue sky or dark background may have no visible scale. A fast apparent movement may come from the object, the camera, digital zoom, autofocus, rolling shutter, compression, or the observer’s own movement.
Even official or military UAP footage can remain difficult to interpret without full sensor data. The US All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, for example, publishes case imagery in which some reports remain unresolved, while others are later assessed as balloons, migratory birds or not anomalous. That does not directly explain Savona or Loano, but it is a useful caution: a video being labelled “UAP” or “unidentified” is not the same as proving exotic origin.[AARO]aaro.milOpen source on aaro.mil.
Phone footage has particular weaknesses in coastal cases. A balloon, drone, gull, aircraft light, satellite, meteor, flare or distant object can be hard to judge without distance. Digital zoom may turn a point of light into a pulsing blob. Atmospheric haze over the Ligurian Sea can soften edges and create glow. If the footage begins after the object is already in view, the most important context — where it came from, how long it was visible, whether others saw it, and whether nearby aircraft or drones were present — may be missing.
This does not mean the Savona and Loano witnesses were wrong to report what they saw. It means the evidential burden changes once a sighting becomes a public UFO claim. A credible assessment would need original files, exact time and location, camera model, unedited sequence before and after the event, direction of view, weather, wind, air-traffic and drone checks, satellite and astronomical checks, and ideally a second independent viewpoint. The public reports so far do not provide that level of documentation.
What later reporting did and did not strengthen
Later coverage kept the Savona-Loano story alive but did not clearly strengthen the case. Local and national outlets repeated the 2024 claims, often using the same core description of luminous spherical objects and Maggioni’s interpretation. IVG reported the 2024 sightings as silent luminous spheres between Savona and Loano and again attributed the expert interpretation to Maggioni.[IVG]ivg.itOpen source on ivg.it. Other outlets repeated similar wording, sometimes adding that some supposed alien sightings elsewhere had been linked to SpaceX rockets while the Ligurian objects were presented as different.[La Voce dei Giornalisti]lavocedeigiornalisti.comavvistati strani oggetti sferici luminosi in cielo tra savona e loanoavvistati strani oggetti sferici luminosi in cielo tra savona e loano
In February 2025, IVG returned to the theme with another article about unidentified flying objects between Savona and Loano, quoting the idea that Liguria might be an “alien habitat”.[IVG]ivg.itOpen source on ivg.it. As publicity, that reinforced the corridor’s reputation. As evidence, it did less. Repetition of a claim is not independent corroboration unless it adds new witnesses, original data, official checks, better imagery or a plausible elimination of ordinary explanations.
The 2016 and 2024 reports therefore remain more important as a case family than as a solved incident. They show a repeated local pattern: spherical or luminous objects, coastal viewing conditions, private UFO-group involvement, and media articles that move quickly from “unidentified” to more speculative language. They do not yet show a clean chain from raw evidence to robust conclusion.
How the dispute fits Liguria’s UFO history
Within Liguria’s UFO history, the Savona-Loano videos occupy a different place from older landmark claims such as the Torriglia abduction narrative. The Savona-Loano material is not built around a single dramatic witness story or alleged encounter. It is built around footage, repetition and dispute: people see or film something, local UFO investigators interpret it, news outlets amplify it, and sceptical readers ask whether the evidence supports the conclusion.
That makes the case family valuable even if no extraordinary explanation is established. It shows how Liguria’s UFO culture has moved into the video age. A regional claim no longer needs a long-form witness testimony to gain attention; it can begin with a clip, a few descriptive phrases and a confident interpretation. The weakness is that video-led cases can look more objective than they are. Without context, a recording may preserve the mystery rather than solve it.
The fairest conclusion is cautious. The Savona and Loano videos deserve a place in Liguria’s UFO record because they became visible, repeated and locally debated. The best public evidence supports the existence of reported sightings and filmed ambiguous objects, not the stronger claim that the objects were extraterrestrial craft or used unknown propulsion. The case remains unresolved in the ordinary sense of “not publicly identified”, but unresolved does not mean unexplainable, and it certainly does not mean confirmed.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: ansa.it
Title: Fotografati Ufo nei cieli di Savona
Link:https://www.ansa.it/liguria/notizie/2016/11/09/fotografati-ufo-nei-cieli-di-savona_89316cbd-7b91-49eb-9384-e25d589101be.html
2.
Source: primocanale.it
Link:https://www.primocanale.it/archivio-news/178420-ufo-nel-mediterraneo-a-savona-quattro-avvistamenti-in-tre-mesi.html
3.
Source: ivg.it
Title: ondata avvistamenti ufo nei cieli savona quattro casi mesi
Link:https://www.ivg.it/2016/11/ondata-avvistamenti-ufo-nei-cieli-savona-quattro-casi-mesi/
4.
Source: ansa.it
Title: Aria, segnalati alcuni Ufo nei cieli di Savona e Loano
Link:https://www.ansa.it/liguria/notizie/2024/02/28/aria-segnalati-alcuni-ufo-nei-cieli-di-savona-e-loano_4cf35732-8731-48a2-a2f2-a50382d1ebf0.html
5.
Source: aaro.mil
Link:https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/Official-UAP-Imagery/
6.
Source: ivg.it
Link:https://www.ivg.it/2024/02/sfere-luminose-che-sfrecciano-in-cielo-silenziose-oggetti-volanti-non-identificati-avvistati-tra-savona-e-loano/
7.
Source: ivg.it
Link:https://www.ivg.it/2025/02/oggetti-volanti-non-identificati-avvistamenti-tra-savona-e-loano-lufologo-la-liguria-un-habitat-alieno/
8.
Source: ivg.it
Link:https://www.ivg.it/2016/11/convegno-ufo-savona-sindaco-ricercatori-evento-scientifico-richiamo-la-citta/
9.
Source: ivg.it
Title: Notizie di angelo maggioni
Link:https://www.ivg.it/tag-personaggio/angelo-maggioni/
10.
Source: ivg.it
Title: Quattro Ufo avvistati a Savona
Link:https://www.ivg.it/fotogallery/quattro-ufo-avvistati-savona/
11.
Source: ivg.it
Title: Notizie di centro ufologico mediterraneo
Link:https://www.ivg.it/tag/centro-ufologico-mediterraneo/
12.
Source: ivg.it
Title: Notizie di angelo carannante
Link:https://www.ivg.it/tag-personaggio/angelo-carannante/
13.
Source: ilfattoquotidiano.it
Title: Il Fatto Quotidiano Ufo avvistati nei cieli di Savona e Loano:”Sfere metalliche
Link:https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2024/02/29/ufo-avvistati-nei-cieli-di-savona-e-loano-sfere-metalliche-grigie-circondate-da-unenergia-luminosa-video/7463404/
14.
Source: ecodisavona.it
Title: Eco di Savona Ufo: ritorno nel Savonese
Link:https://www.ecodisavona.it/ufo-ritorno-nel-savonese/
15.
Source: aeronautica.difesa.it
Title: Aeronautica Militare OVNI
Link:https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/ovni/
16.
Source: lavocedeigiornalisti.com
Title: avvistati strani oggetti sferici luminosi in cielo tra savona e loano
Link:https://www.lavocedeigiornalisti.com/attualita/avvistati-strani-oggetti-sferici-luminosi-in-cielo-tra-savona-e-loano/
17.
Source: aeronautica.difesa.it
Link:https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ModuloUFO-1.pdf
18.
Source: aeronautica.difesa.it
Title: it OVN I
Link:https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/en/2023/01/12/ovni/
Additional References
19.
Source: ilsecoloxix.it
Link:https://www.ilsecoloxix.it/savona/2012/08/27/video/ho_visto_un_ufo_a_savona-10164437/
20.
Source: ilsecoloxix.it
Link:https://www.ilsecoloxix.it/savona/2012/08/29/video/ufo_a_savona_no_era_unastronave-10164226/
21.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/aliens/comments/18gxnfn/apparently_every_single_ufoalien_video_andor/
22.
Source: linkedin.com
Link:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/angelo-maggioni-546679154_aria-segnalati-alcuni-ufo-nei-cieli-di-savona-activity-7169363119209664513-F_nY
23.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/AgenziaANSA/posts/aria-segnalati-alcuni-ufo-nei-cieli-di-savona-e-loano-maggioni-sono-oggetti-extr/807063191457522/
24.
Source: giornalemetropolitano.com
Link:https://www.giornalemetropolitano.com/avvistamento-di-ufo-tra-il-cielo-di-savona-e-loano/
25.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/newshour/posts/boston-university-space-physicist-joshua-semeter-was-part-of-an-independent-pane/1143879570940621/
26.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/wxyzdetroit/posts/experts-have-urged-caution-around-the-release-of-the-new-files-warning-that-uap-/1471793191642975/
27.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/niz2mq/has_mick_west_addressed_how_his_hypothesis_on_the/
28.
Source: skepticalinquirer.org
Link:https://skepticalinquirer.org/2024/12/quick-guide-to-modern-video-analysis-techniques-for-uap-and-ufos/
Topic Tree
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Parent topic
Liguria UFOsRelated pages 9
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