Costruire la memoria collettiva. Guida ai fondi per un archivio virtuale degli albanesi d’Italia

The paper presents a mapping of archival fonds pertaining to the Arbëreshë communities in Italy, with particular reference to Sicily, based on a survey of repositories and documentary holdings identified to date. The research, still in progress, delineates an open and non-exhaustive framework, characterised by the territorial dispersion of archival materials and the heterogeneity of the sources, and seeks to provide an initial point of reference for subsequent research and enhancement activities by establishing connections among otherwise dispersed documentary nuclei. This fragmentation underscores the need to reconsider the relationship between memory and archives: the mapping is thus situated within a broader reflection on the dynamic nature of collective memory and on the role of archives in critically interrogating consolidated identity narratives. Within this perspective, the paper also offers a preliminary reference to recent initiatives of archival cooperation between Italy and Albania, as the institutional framework within which a dedicated digital portal is currently being developed.