National UFO Center

The Centro Ufologico Nazionale (CUN), known in English as the National UFO Center, is an Italian non-profit, non-denominational and non-partisan association dedicated to the collection, research and study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP/UFOs). Founded in the mid-1960s and officially constituted in 1967, it is among the four most important ufological associations in the world and one of the longest-lived, with over 60 years of activity. The CUN operates from a central office in Florence and maintains a nationwide network of regional and provincial representatives. Its central archive, which absorbed that of the Sezione Ufologica Fiorentina (formerly the Gruppo Clipeologico Fiorentino), has investigated and catalogued no fewer than 13,000 cases concerning Italy between 1900 and 2020, and its various archives hold approximately one million cases worldwide. The association publishes the quarterly bulletin Filo Diretto, runs a national website and a network of over fifty local CUN, associated and friendly websites, and organises conferences, meetings and other ufology-related events. Since 1993 it has held an international symposium on UFOs and related phenomena in San Marino, inviting internationally known foreign ufologists as speakers. The CUN is accredited with the Italian Ministry of Defence for access to data on the outcome of non-classified ufological investigations carried out by the Italian Air Force. Its president is Roberto Pinotti, a aerospace journalist who also directs its international symposium. The organisation's research relies on a multidisciplinary team including photo/video analysts, engineers, IT specialists, technicians, laboratory analysts, lawyers, mathematicians, physicists, doctors, psychologists and other technical figures. Its stated mission is to investigate, archive and disseminate information on ufological cases worldwide, to organise international conferences and symposia, to publish books and magazines, to host international guests and to conduct cutting-edge research in collaboration with university researchers.

In the early 1960s, several ufological associations existed in Italy, including the Centro Studi Clipeologici based in Turin, the Gruppo Clipeologico Fiorentino based in Florence, and the Centro Italiano Studi Aviazione Elettromagnetica (CISAER) based in Rome. In September 1965, a conference was organised in Turin to establish a single national centre for the study of UFOs. In January 1966 the new association began operating, publishing a bulletin and preparing its statute. In January 1967 the association was officially constituted before a notary, taking the name Centro Unico Nazionale per lo studio dei fenomeni ritenuti di natura extraterrestre (National Single Centre for the Study of Phenomena Believed to be of Extraterrestrial Nature). In 1973 the association adopted its current name, Centro Ufologico Nazionale. Since 1966, the year of its founding, the CUN has operated in Italian and foreign territory regarding UFO phenomena and related phenomena. In 2026 the Centro Ufologico Nazionale celebrated 60 years since its official founding. The current president of the CUN is Roberto Pinotti. The CUN has a central office in Florence and a network of regional and provincial representatives throughout Italy. The central office houses the association's archive, which absorbed that of the Sezione Ufologica Fiorentina (formerly the Gruppo Clipeologico Fiorentino) and has investigated and archived no fewer than 13,000 cases concerning Italy between 1900 and 2020, and its various archives hold approximately one million cases worldwide. The association collects materials related to ufological themes in the 'Banca delle Documentazioni' (Documentation Bank), open to those who wish to follow the association's activities, at the discretion of the CUN's directing council. It publishes the quarterly bulletin Filo Diretto, sent to all members. It has a national website and a network of over fifty local CUN, associated and friendly websites. It organises conferences, lectures and other events related to ufology; meetings are aperiodic and dates are announced in Filo Diretto. Since 1993 the association has organised an international symposium on UFOs and related phenomena in San Marino, where internationally known foreign ufologists are invited as speakers. The Centro Ufologico Nazionale is accredited with the Ministry of Defence for access to data on the outcome of non-classified ufological investigations carried out by the Italian Air Force. UFO Notiziario was the official information magazine of the Italian Centro Ufologico Nazionale, whose president, Roberto Pinotti, was also the magazine's director. The magazine presented historical themes still under debate alongside contemporary cases of unidentified aerial phenomena.

• 2026

  CUN celebrates 60 years since its official founding.

• 2024

  33rd CUN World Symposium held in San Marino on 1–2 June.

• 2023

  32nd CUN Symposium held in San Marino on 4–5 November.

• 1993

  First international symposium on UFOs and related phenomena held in San Marino.

• 1973

  Association adopts the current name Centro Ufologico Nazionale.

• 1967

  Association officially constituted before a notary as Centro Unico Nazionale per lo studio dei fenomeni ritenuti di natura extraterrestre.

• 1966

  The new association begins operating, publishing a bulletin and preparing its statute.

• 1965

  Conference held in Turin to establish a single national centre for UFO studies.

One of the world's four most important ufological associations, Italy's oldest and most authoritative UFO research body, with a multidisciplinary approach and official accreditation with the Italian Ministry of Defence.

• Filo Diretto

  Quarterly bulletin sent to all members.

• UFO Notiziario

  Official information magazine of the CUN, directed by Roberto Pinotti.

• Banca delle Documentazioni

  Documentation bank collecting materials related to ufological themes, open at the discretion of the directing council.

1. 1Centro Ufologico Nazionale - Attivo fin dal 1966cun-italia.com
2. 2National UFO Center - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Centro ufologico nazionale - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org