In January 2026, the Italian Senate hosted a conference on a highly unusual topic: a miraculous machine capable of destroying matter and converting it into pure energy, producing infinite energy, transforming one element into another and rejuvenating organic matter.
The device was allegedly developed by the exceptional Italian physicist Ettore Majorana, who did pioneering work in the theory of elementary particles but disappeared without a trace in 1938, at the age of 31. It is not known whether he died then or, as has been suggested on several occasions, started a new life elsewhere. The Italian entrepreneur Rolando Pelizza claimed to have met Majorana in 1958 and that the famous physicist was living in hiding in an unknown monastery. Pelizza also claimed to have become his pupil. It is said that Majorana built the revolutionary machine and used it to rejuvenate himself (he is supposedly still alive). However, all copies of the device have since been destroyed by ‘dark forces’.
Born in the year Majorana disappeared, Pelizza died of Covid in 2022. However, a group of his supporters led by his nephew, Alfredo Ravelli, continues to defend his claims. Ravelli, who is now promoting Pelizza’s biography, which is particularly expensive, everywhere, managed to convince Senator and former Minister Gian Marco Centinaio (of the far-right Lega party) to organise the conference.
More scientifically oriented Italians consider it a disgrace that this nonsense is receiving the attention of the Senate of the Republic. Several of them, including the president of the Italian sceptical association CICAP, demonstrated at the conference that it is pure pseudoscience. Experts also dismissed Pelizza’s ‘evidence’, consisting only of suspicious photos and letters supposedly from Majorana, which may have been forged.
In Italy, Gisella Cardia, known as the “visionary of Trevignano”, is being charged with fraud. Her husband, Gianni Cardia, has been charged with accessory to fraud.
The two are accused to have staged apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Gisella Cardia allegedly predicted future catastrophes and disasters such as earthquakes, to encourage believers to donate money to the veneration of the Madonna of Trevignano.
The statue of the Madonna in question, located on the shores of Lake Bracciano about fifty kilometres from Rome, has been in the news for years as it supposedly cried blood. Cardia claimed to have received messages from both God and Satan.
Hundreds of believers flocked every month to witness the “miracle,” although the Catholic Church distanced itself from the event. The couple offered pilgrims pizza and gnocchi, which were said to have miraculously multiplied!
A judicial investigation earlier this year revealed that the DNA of the blood on the statue matched that of the visionary herself, Gisella Cardia. Her lawyer argued at the time that the accused’s blood could have been mixed with that of the statue and further that no one can know the composition of the DNA of the Virgin Mary.
The court is particularly concerned that Cardia and her husband collected a total of 365,000 euros in donations. The couple has claimed this money would go to a children’s hospital, but it seems it was instead spent on renovating the shrine and purchasing an expensive car. The trial will begin in April 2026 in the town of Civitavecchia.
The emergency caused by the spread Covid-19 is putting a strain on our health system and demands everyone’s collaboration to limit undesirable consequences.
CICAP, in accordance with its mandate, focuses on the role of information, which now more than ever has to be both clear and accurate. In recent days the dissemination of non fact-checked news, which then proved to be false, spanning from alleged miraculous cures to pure alarmism, has fuelled confusion and hindered efforts to deal with the epidemic.
CICAP asks the news media to honour their vital social responsibility and to exercise the utmost care in verifying news. In this crucial phase, going for the big headline and spreading unverified news is more than ever counter-productive.
Some advice:
avoid interviewing people without a specific scientific background (such as show business, industry or sports personalities) on virus or lockdown-related issues
entrust expert science journalists to verify research sources, to prevent the spread of unverified news such as the airborne transmission of the virus or the healing properties of vitamin C
keep to the facts and avoid unnecessarily dramatic language: don’t use words such as “panic” or “hysteria” to describe people’s behaviour or use extreme language such as “massacre”, “lazaret” and so on
don’t give space to conspiracy narratives not supported by solid evidence
oppose the spread of unverified audio messages.
We understand that journalism has an ethical obligation to timely reporting, but this must not be at the expense of fact-checking and contextualization that would allow for an autonomous and objective evaluation by the reader.
James Randi will be back to Italy and will attend CICAP-Fest in Cesena from September 29 to October 01.
Randi will also be a special guest at the magic workshop held at CICAP-Fest, giving people the opportunity to learn from him how to create and investigate “paranormal” effects.
James Randi is a retired stage magician and a scientific skeptic, co-founder of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). He has extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
Chiedi le prove, the Italian initiative established by CICAP and based on Ask for Evidence in the UK will bring four stories on the importance of evidence to the European Parliament in Bruxelles, on June 21.
In Italy, Gisella Cardia, known as the “visionary of Trevignano”, is being charged with fraud. Her husband, Gianni Cardia, has been charged with accessory to fraud.