and the rest of the settlements in the Pogon municipality became part of Albania in the 1920s. In 1940, when Axis Italy launched a failed invasion against Greece from Albanian territory during World War II, the town came under the control of the II Army Corps of the Greek forces. The Greek communities that reside in Pogon have a recognized minority status by the Albanian state. A Greek elementary school is currently operating in Polican. Demographics In 1913 the population of Polican was 1,650 (Greek census). During the interwar period it reached ca. 2,500 inhabitants that spoke Greek. but it decreased to 559 in 1989. According to a 2014 report by the Albanian government, there were 729 ethnic Greeks in the village. Geography and culture Polican is located on the slopes of Mount Nemërçkë, from the Greek-Albanian border. It is the northernmost Greek speaking village within the Pogoni region, which is divided between Greece (40 villages) and Albania (7 villages). In Polican, along with the rest of the Pogoni region, polyphonic singing is part of the local musical tradition. Notable people Sophianos (-1711), Greek-Orthodox bishop and scholar. References Sources ΖΩΤΟΥ, ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΥ; ΓΙΑΝΝΑΡΟΥ, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΦΟΡΟΥ. Η ΠΟΛΥΤΣΑΝΗ ΤΗΣ ΒΟΡΕΙΟΥ ΗΠΕΙΡΟΥ. ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ, ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΑ, 1989. Politsanitika Nea Newspaper, Tel. +30 210 5238058 (Greek) External links Traditional songs Εψές Προψές Απέρασα [One Night, Two Nights Ago I Dropped by]. Του Γιοφυριού της Άρτας [Song of the Bridge of Arta]. Website Politsani.com Greek communities in Albania Populated places in Dropull Villages in Gjirokastër County