Sotira is the second village we visit following the photos with Klodian. It is a Greek minority locality on the border between Greece and Albania. Sotira was also occupied by the Italians. The road signs are bilingual greek-albanian. We are in the Dropull area, a predominantly Greek-inhabited region in Gjirokastër County. To get to the village from the main road, the bus driver calls the taxi driver Illir (from Illyria, the ancient name for Albania), who drives us to our destination. The school is right at the entrance to the village, and it is very well preserved, although closed by a gate. The school will soon become a museum.

 

A series of photos of my grandfather shows soldiers and locals, mostly children, posing in front of the camera. In 80 years only one other Italian has returned to the places, the son of a hierarch based there. Local men are in the public space doing public relations. The women, at home, are the guardians of memory. And of the wi-fi password.