Natuzza Evolo Died On November 1 2009 At 85 Modern Mystic Mourned in Italy








The Case Investigation Of Natuzza Evolo
by Michael J. Nanko

I. Introduction

AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE INVESTIGATION has long been warranted into the voluminous anomalies and claims of the paranormal which characterize Natuzza Evolo, the renowned Italian medium, healer, bilocator and stigmatic. Associated with Natuzza's stigmata is also the phenomenon of hemography. In light of the facts that such claims expand over nearly five decades, attested to by many reputable professionals, that Natuzza accepts no remuneration for her consulting, nor has she ever been observed in any fraudulent behaviors, the Board of Directors of the Southern California Society for Psychical Research determined that this case deserved inquiry. The purpose of this article is to present the preliminary findings of a case investigation of Natuzza Evolo conducted by the SCSPR during September of 1984.

The SCSPR was first introduced to Natuzza Evolo (hereafter referred to only as "Natuzza") via an unpublished Italian manuscript by Valerio Marinelli. Marinelli, a professor of engineering at the University of Calabria, in southern Italy, had conducted interviews with Natuzza and obtained testimony from scores of individuals purported to have had paranormal experiences with Natuzza. Professor Marinelli is one of only three persons provided the opportunity to interview Natuzza in some depth.

We were advised early in our investigation that SCSPR researchers would not be afforded the opportunity of conducting a thorough parapsychological case investigation; virtually all correspondence with parties in Italy (Marinelli, Satriani, religious leaders, witnesses, physicians, etc.) reminded the SCSPR that people would not cooperate with Americans conducting any type of inquiry into Natuzza. Consequently, the SCSPR decided to modify its objectives of achieving a thorough scientific investigation work with Natuzza, and focused instead on attainment of basic information and data which might corroborate or discount previous documentation of Natuzza's alleged paranormal "Powers." (See Marinelli 1983, Satriani 1982, and Mesiano 1974).

It was toward this end that Elizabeth McAdams and I went to the south of Italy, accompanied by an Italian interpreter, to achieve the following objectives:

1.To interview Professor Marinelli regarding his research on Natuzza;
2.To obtain independent interviews of experients named in Marinelli's work;
3.To secure original testimony from individuals not previously surveyed;
4.To interview Natuzza regarding her ostensible psi abilities;
5.To observe her procedures for consulting with people who come to her home;
6.To document that Natuzza exhibits stigmata;
7.To document the hemography phenomena said to occur when her stigmatic wounds are wrapped with handkerchiefs or other cloth coverings.
II. Brief Background on Culture and Area

Natuzza was born and has lived her entire life in the village of Paravati, in the Province of Calabria, the southernmost region of Italy. It is a mountainous region lying between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas with flatland comprising less than 10 percent of the 800 km of mountainous coastline. The region is predominantly devoted to agriculture, and the villagers subsist on a frugal, but dignified family income. To the visitor from an industrial society, entering Paravati feels like a step backward in time, the culture and ideologies of the people strikingly distinct from the more cosmopolitan north. Oxen-carts and corner shrines are common sights here, where men and women socialize in segregated groupings outside their stone-facade homes. (Custom dictates that widowed women sit facing inside their homes and away from the street.)

Professor Piero Cassoli, President of the Center for Parapsychology Studies in Bologna describes the region in which Natuzza lives as the "profound south," "a magical milieu..." (Note 1). It is an area spattered with beliefs in sorcery, witchcraft, charms and spells.

III. Brief Background on Natuzza Evolo

NATUZZA DEI MORTI (Natuzza of the Dead)

Natuzza is a 60-year-old woman, born at Paravati, where she has lived her life in poverty. She is short-statured, moderately obese with the characteristic appearance of a Calabrese country woman. It is reported that Natuzza received early religious instruction commensurate with her contemporaries, but she never attended primary school. She is completely illiterate. Friends and relatives must help her to answer the hundreds of letters she receives from many parts of the world. At the age of 14, Natuzza was taken into domestic service in the home of the attorney Silvio Colloca and his wife, where she came to live. On leaving the Colloca home years later, she married Pasquale Nicolace, a fellow countryman and carpenter, with whom she had five children.

Although there are several sketchy accounts of earlier paranormal phenomena, it was here at the Colloca house where Natuzza's asserted paranormal abilities first manifested and drew attention. The first occasion occurred while Mrs. Colloca was walking in the country with Natuzza, when Mrs. Alba noticed the appearance of foamy blood on Natuzza's foot, with no evidence of any wound present. At the request of the Collocas, Drs. Domenico and Giuseppe Naccari examined Natuzza and reported that it was a "perspiration of blood" and that Natuzza appeared to be perfectly healthy. This incident proved to be the precursor of what would be scores of other perspirations of blood which surfaced over the years from her feet, hands, face, breast, shoulders, and back.

Mrs. Alba relates having overheard and observed Natuzza on many occasions purportedly in conversation with the Saints, with Jesus, Mary, and other "defunct" souls. Frequently during her adolescence, Natuzza would enter a trance or epileptic-like state while "communicating" with the dead or with the angels. It is from these discarnate entities that Natuzza claims to receive psychic information. By the age of 15, Natuzza was considered a medium within the local communities.

Related to this phenomenon of blood perspiration, and even more remarkable, is the production of hemography. This consists of the spontaneous, independent rearrangement of particles of blood to form designs, inscriptions and symbols (always of religious character) upon handkerchiefs or cloths which come in contact with wounds or profusions on Natuzza's body. The first manifestations of this phenomenon occurred when Natuzza was 16 years old, in the Cathedral of Mileto, upon receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. After receiving the Sacrament, Natuzza discovered, after feeling her shoulder to be wet, the image of a cross (of about 5 cm) formed in blood on her undershirt. The garment was sent by the monsignor to the bishop of the Diocese of Mileto and forwarded to officials at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan; however, no conclusions were drawn.

In the following years, the hemographies increased in number, becoming more elaborate. Claims were also being made by townsfolk of Natuzza visiting them in bilocation, as well as beliefs in her ability to diagnose medical conditions even unbeknownst to the individual. People report healings after invoking Natuzza's assistance. She also provides "psychic" help in other matters i.e., locating lost objects, missing persons, etc.

It was around the age of 30 that Natuzza first became impressed with the stigmata, developing wounds corresponding to those traditionally depicted as those which were suffered by Christ. Natuzza herself insists that these phenomena occur completely independent of her will, completely uninfluenced by her own volition. She ascribes her remarkable abilities to the angels, Jesus, the Madonna, and the Saints. Although Natuzza is commonly regarded as something of a living saint, it would appear that her ardent Catholicism embodies interpretations peculiar to herself. Father Salvatore Sangeniti, (past pastor of the Paravati Catholic Church, and now head of the seminary in Mileto), described Natuzza's belief system to me as being often naive, which may contradict or confuse interpretations and teachings of the Catholic Faith. "Natuzza often mixes up the stories that are in the Bible and will advise differently than the Church would." He is, however, quite supportive of Natuzza. "She does not want fanaticism or to be a substitute for the Church. She is not hurting anyone because she is not a fraud or taking money. There is nothing for the Church to worry about. In fact, she has stimulated interest in the Church... Natuzza believes in Christ to the fullest." (Note 2).

IV. Visits With Natuzza

For nearly 40 years, four days a week, Natuzza has received the hundreds of people who seek her counsel. Most are there to ask for news of their deceased loved ones, others with questions concerning their own health or that of their relatives. The SCSPR research team met with Natuzza on two occasions. This necessitated arriving at her home before 7:00 A.M. to gain admittance when her door opened at 8:00 A.M. The crowd enters into an anteroom, beyond which is a small chapel and past that, a garden. To the immediate right is a small room in which Natuzza receives visitors, in which after waiting for hours, most will spend only up to ten minutes with Natuzza. Once inside the house, some of the pilgrims will pray before the altar, some find seating; others wait adjacent to the receiving door awaiting their turn for an audience. Group songs or prayers may break out spontaneously in the crowd. Even so, an implicit waiting system appears in operation. A few patrons with more pressing needs will plead their way closer to the front, but for the most part, visitors are received in the order in which they arrived.

With me at our first visit with Natuzza were Elizabeth McAdams, our interpreter, Ana Leva, and Mrs. Leticia Rotella, a life-long resident of Mileto, who with her husband, Mr. Fortunato, owned the pension in which we stayed in Mileto. On this morning, after waiting at Natuzza's home for several hours, we were befriended by a woman there who offered to arrange an appointment for us with Natuzza later that afternoon so that we might have a longer audience with her. Upon our return there were still over one hundred people waiting to see her. Natuzza informed us that she would not grant an interview "because there are too many who need my help." She told us that she could only talk with us for a short time. We were able to present a few questions; however, for probing questions we were referred to Professor Marinelli.

On a more personal level, I presented Natuzza with a photograph of a male relative. I stated that this individual had been missing for "some time" and could she comment on his situation. Natuzza replied, "He is dead and in Paradise." This target person had in fact died in 1973. Next, each individual in the room questioned Natuzza about their own health. However, she responded in only general terms.

The second meeting with Natuzza occurred 8 days later. For this meeting I was accompanied by Ana Leva, Vernon Miller, G.M. and L.R.S. (Note 3). Aside from some general (nonveridical) information Natuzza also offered some ostensible psi information. As planned, Ana asked Natuzza to provide information about two of her relatives. Natuzza correctly informed Ana that the younger of the two was dead and the older one was alive. More interestingly, Natuzza elaborated on the unique and troublesome nature of the relationship between the two relatives. I followed by asking Natuzza to tell me the whereabouts of my father whom I stated I had not seen in years. Natuzza said, "He is dead and in Purgatory - pray for him." The fact is that he died almost 11 years ago.

Vernon Miller, who served as photographer for part of the Natuzza investigation and who was the official photographer for the international team that studied the Shroud of Turin (1977) asked Natuzza a line of questions related to the Shroud. She responded with, "It is the burial cloth of Jesus, it is genuine, but science can never prove it."

Natuzza next provided some provocative responses to questions of health. I first asked Natuzza to provide a prognosis on my mother whom I presented as critically ill. Natuzza insisted that my mother was "in good health and does not suffer." This was a deceptive question and my mother was in good health. Natuzza went on next to tell Ana that LRS has a " serious bone sickness and that she needs to trust doctors." Ana was instructed by Natuzza to wait until a more opportune time to discuss this comment with LRS. When confronted with this comment, LRS reluctantly disclosed that she does suffer from a rare bone disease, osteomyelitis, but with iatrogenic etiology. Furthermore, Natuzza told Ana "You have a bleeding and you're thinking that the cause of it is a cyst - that is not true. You have a 'fibroma' in the uterus. You need an operation, so don't waste time." Not sure what she told Ana, Natuzza asks "What is a fibroma?" Natuzza's "psychic" diagnosis of Ana's condition was disturbingly accurate. Just two days previous Ana had not been feeling well and just one day earlier she began to have abnormal bleeding.

As soon as she was able, Ana returned to Florence (Italy) to undergo a thorough medical examination. Two weeks later we heard from Ana. In her own words: "I have been to the doctor and he told me there is something strange in my uterus - it seems I had a lot of fibromata, but now I only have the wounds of it. He also said it is a miracle. So my situation is fair and I have to visit the doctor every few months because it was a cancer. Anyways, I have a lot of pain and will have to take medication for 2 or 3 years - but this is OK because I thought I had to have an operation." (Note 4).

Natuzza would not submit to any systematic questioning or to any obvious testing of her abilities. She asserted that the illnesses and injuries she "perceives" in others only happen when the angels are present. Natuzza disclaimed that she is responsible for any "healings" that occur in her presence or subsequent to an audience with her. It may be of interest to note that faith healers or the like are outlawed in Italy and some "healers" have been prosecuted.


V. Bilocation and Hemography

As previously mentioned, the SCSPR team met with several witnesses to Natuzza's purported bilocations and hemographies. Some historical accounts of bilocation appear to be well-researched in the canonization proceedings of the Catholic Saints by Prospero Lambertini, including the more contemporary investigation done on Padre Pio. Bilocative phenomena are equally known in Hindu, Buddhist, and Tantric literature of the great swamis and yogis. In parapsychology proper, Osis and Haraldsson (1976) have provided some documentation of ostensible bilocation. Psi researchers of the OOBE also project that their work may eventually shed some light on the understanding of this phenomenon.

Marinelli (1978/83) has been able to document some fifty-five cases of Natuzza's bilocation, which he believes represent only a fraction of the actual incidences. In over twenty cases he reports Natuzza's apparition is seen by witnesses. In several cases apparitions of the dead are seen with Natuzza. In others, Natuzza's voice is heard, but no apparition is seen. In thirteen incidents, Natuzza's bilocating self was reported to perform physical behaviors such as opening and closing doors, knocking over objects, flicking lights, pulling hair, etc. In ten cases the apparition left behind bloodstains or hemographies at the reported site of the bilocation.

Hemography, the paranormal patterning of bloodstains on cloth, is directly related to the stigmata in Natuzza's situation. The blood which flows from Natuzza's wounds and sweating pores during Holy Week (the week preceding Easter) has been reported to spontaneously rearrange to form sacred symbols which are always associated with the Christian Faith. Emblems or figures such as crosses, hosts, monstrances, chalices, rosaries, bleeding hearts, crowns of thorns, praying figures, angels, the face of Jesus, and the Madonna, have all been documented to appear in hemography. In fewer cases the blood composes phrases of religious content, and in a variety of languages (e.g. Italian, French, Latin, Greek, Aramaic, and English).

Marinelli claims to have reviewed over one hundred of these hemographies. I had the opportunity to examine more than twenty-five individual articles of hemography purportedly produced by Natuzza.

Various combinations of Natuzza's bilocations and hemographies have been reported by individuals interviewed by Marinelli and me. Other testimonies have reported bilocation or hemography occurring alone. These testimonies are numerous and detailed. In consideration of space, the accounts of two interviewees are presented here in summarized form. Both experiments report having witnessed a combination of Natuzza's phenomena on several occasions:

1.Professor Maria Mantelli lives in Catanzaro, 100 km from Paravati. She has known Natuzza for about fifteen years and has had numerous paranormal experiences with her. Her daughter, Ida Mantelli, is a physician who attends to Natuzza during Holy Week. Ida first encountered Natuzza during a hospitalization for complications from the stigmata. Dr. Mantelli reports finding hemographies on the pillows and sheets of Natuzza's hospital bed. Dr. Mantelli herself applied a handkerchief to Natuzza's wrist on one occasion. She claims that the blood formed into a French-language statement which translated, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Another event transpired while Dr. Mantelli was talking with Natuzza by telephone from Professor Mantelli's home. Dr. Mantelli wanted to meet with Natuzza, but it was not possible. When Ida hung up the telephone, she and her mother noticed the word "Nana" which was fingered in what appeared to be a breath mark on the window. "Nana" was the pet name which Natuzza used for Dr. Mantelli. The moisture from the apparent breath was on the outside of a fourth-story window. Neither of the Mantellis could explain the event as being anything other than an "endearing" visit from Natuzza, who wanted to be with them. Both Dr. Mantelli and her mother stood together throughout the entire phone conversation with Natuzza. Professor Mantelli found bloodstains on her drapes and tablecloth on two other occasions after conversing with Natuzza.

Professor Mantelli relates an occasion on which she asked her husband, Samuele, to pick up Natuzza and take her to the hospital, where she was to be admitted for her heart condition. Samuele, being basically afraid of Natuzza, wanted to decline, but then conceded that he would wait until the following morning before doing so. Upon awakening, he found on his pillow a fresh hemography in the form of a cross about two to three centimeters in size. At this startling find, Samuele left immediately to pick up Natuzza. Upon arrival, and before he could speak, Natuzza told him that the hemography was a gift to him for coming to pick her up.

Professor Mantelli claims to have had many other experiences with Natuzza bordering on the paranormal, one of which concerns the death of the professor's father. During the three days preceding her father's death, Professor Mantelli tried unsuccessfully to reach Natuzza by telephone to discuss her father's worsening condition. However, within ten minutes of his death, Natuzza phoned Professor Mantelli and said, "He died, but he will go on to Paradise." Professor Mantelli insists that there was no way that Natuzza could have known of her father's aggravated condition or death.
2.Mrs. Carmelina Fratini, of Giao Taura (25 km from Paravati), relates the following two accounts of bilocative visits made to her by Natuzza. The first visitation occurred late at night in March 1971: "I was breastfeeding my newborn baby when I heard the door open and felt a sensation of cold. Initially I was stunned, but then a comforting, peaceful feeling came over me. I remember turning to see a woman entering the room. She came toward me, paused for a moment, and while I tried to recognize her, she went toward the door and shut it behind her, as if she did not want to be recognized. ...I thought it must be my aunt or Natuzza. The next day I went to Natuzza to ask her what she thought of this experience. Before I could say anything, however, Natuzza told me to cover up my daughter better at night so as she would not fall ill. In fact, I had been breastfeeding my baby that night without covering her properly. I was convinced that it was Natuzza who came to me."

The second event occurred several years later: "It was about 10:00 P.M. on a winter night. I had just gone to bed, but was still completely awake. Suddenly, I saw my deceased father, Natuzza, and a luminous figure which I did not recognize. I was afraid at first, but soon I decided to speak, asking, 'Natuzza, if it is really you, please let me know - please give me a sign!' A moment later I heard the curtain rod strike the wall three distinct times... My father had a serene face and smiled at me for several seconds. His aspect was completely real, and he was wearing clothes he wore around the house. Natuzza was also clearly distinguishable. When I discussed this event with Natuzza, she told me she was at my house with my father and an angel." Mrs. Fratini displayed to me numerous cloths and garments containing hemographies, recounting in detail the history of each. They include personal handkerchiefs bought new and placed over Natuzza's wounds, as well as gifts from Natuzza of her garments stained with hemographies over the shoulder area and rib area, corresponding to where Christ was said to have been pierced with a lance. Signora Fratini related a subsequent bilocative experience in which Natuzza left physical evidence of her presence in the form of hemography. While preparing the afternoon meal one day, she felt a presence in the kitchen, yet she observed that the doors and windows to the kitchen were closed. She then felt a slight breeze which directed her attention to the table. She noticed that the napkins she had placed on the table had fallen to the floor, and on retrieving them noticed one to be covered with fresh splotches of blood which had formed into hemographies. She is convinced that no one could have entered the kitchen through the closed doors without being noticed.
These experiences of Mrs. Fratini and the Mantellis are only a few of the many accounts given us by individuals we interviewed.

VI. Synopsis

Basically, when we investigate a proclaimed psychic, our main objective is to ascertain whether they possess genuine ability or whether the individual is a charlatan. In this limited investigation conducted on Natuzza, we found no evidence of fraud nor any accusations of fraud. This is remarkable when one considers the large numbers and diversity of those with whom she has had contact for the past fifty years or more. Moreover, we must reiterate that Natuzza does not take credit or any remuneration for what she does (unlike most mediums or psychics). She also works to discourage the fanaticism that has followed her all these years. As far as mediums are concerned, Natuzza is in a class by herself.

Natuzza may be one of those "magical" individuals who seem to facilitate a psi field around them. For example, many people claim to have been "healed" merely by her presence, and hundreds have had paranormal experiences during or subsequent to a visit with Natuzza. She definitely has a strong influence on the religious, social-psychological, and emotional expectations of those with whom she comes into contact. For our investigation, Natuzza was found to be more than an ample "guesser" with regard to our questions about health and the status of our relatives (alive/deceased). However, we must note that Natuzza would not submit to any formal or systematic experimentation. It has been suggested by one Italian writer, a psychiatrist, (Puca, 1949) that the phenomenon that surrounds Natuzza is due to her "hysterical" personality. It is possible Natuzza may possess histrionic qualities or delusional symptomatology with regard to the onset and maintenance of the stigmata, and her contact with the dead, Saints and angels. However, the phenomena associated with Natuzza cannot be explained away by clinical labels and processes. In fact, there is no evidence for the psychiatric explanation.

The physical evidence of hemographies may be one of the most likely avenues to further document and investigate Natuzza's ostensible psi abilities. The claims of the loci, processes, and outcomes of the hemographies are so fantastic that this investigator cannot yet speculate as to how they are produced in plain sight of witnesses.

Are the witnesses hypnotized, credulous and gullible? Is it slight of hand or malobservation? Is there mass illusion, mass conspiracy or contagion involved? Is there a psychokinesis influence on the part of Natuzza, or on the part of the observer (or a combination thereof)? Or, as the followers of Natuzza and the researchers who are pro-survival theorists would have it: is there a supernatural involvement?

Although case studies in and of themselves cannot provide "proofs," they can yield suggestions. They can suggest about the process of psi and provide insights into psi phenomena not supplied by the laboratory or generated from armchair theory-building. Much was learned in this first exploratory documentation of the case of Natuzza. It is clear there is a need for more research. Systematic or process-oriented research is necessary, albeit highly improbable or impossible. Independent exploration by other parapsychologists, impartial medical specialists, and magicians sensitive to cultural differences would certainly help generate some clarification or conclusions. The phenomenon of hemography needs to be witnessed first-hand by such observers, and filmed. For now, Natuzza remains an enigma to the field of psychical research.


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Notes

1.Personal communication with Dr. Piero Cassoli in June 1984.
2.Personal communication with Father Sangeniti in September 1984.
3.The full names of GM and LRS are on file with the SCSPR.
4.Follow-up information on Ana Leva's condition was received over the telephone and by two letters immediately following her return to Florence.
References

•Marinelli, V., Natuzza De Paravati, Tipographia Mapograf s.r.l Vibo Valentia, Italy, 1983.
•Osis, K. & Haraldsson, E., OOBE's in Indian Swamis: Satja Sai Baba and Dadaji. In Research in Parapsychology 1975, edited by Joanna Morris, Robert Morris and William Roll. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1976.
•Puca, A. Interpretazioni Miracolistiche in un caso di Isterismo con Sudore e Grafia Ematica. Il Lavoro Neuropsichiatrico, Vol. IV (II) 1949.
•Satriani, L.M.L. Il Ponte Di San Giacomo, Rizzoli Editore, Milano, Italy 1982.

Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing this topic/post to us! God Bless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very sad to hear of the passing of Natuzza Evolo. She was a genuine good soul and it was nice to read the excellent article by Michael Nanko

    ReplyDelete
  3. bella mamma natuzza e ed euna santa che prega per tutti noi come spero che mi venisse nei sogni come vorrei una foto o una santina prega per tutti coloro che ai lasciato in questa terra santa miracolosa silvana fiorello sei e sei un angelo custode



    105 drew rd williamsburg va 23185

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  4. Blessed be you Sir for your great goodness in providing this article on this holy woman. May Natuzza intercede for us now in the struggle for Heaven

    ReplyDelete

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