Roberto Pinotti (Venice, 1944) is an Italian sociologist, journalist and writer. He is considered the foremost Italian researcher in the field of ufology. A sociology graduate from the University of Florence, he followed a military career as an officer in the “3rd Missile Brigade" of the Italian Army as well as performing journalistic duties for the Aeronautical Magazine of the Italian Air Force. Since 1960, he has been researching every possible source (whether documented or not) on UFO phenomena. He has participated on the French committee Groupement d'Etudes des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non identifiés and was responsible for organising the first “International Symposium on UFOs”, on behalf of the Republic of San Marino. Besides the above, Pinotti is an international consultant for the SETI research group and has worked out several principles of conduct in the event of a possible contact with intelligent extraterrestrial beings. Pinotti is president of the National Ufology Centre (CUN), a private institution headquartered in Florence and is also director of CUN’s monthly magazine UFO Bulletin.