We prefer to pray

• Photographer
  Sonia Costa
• Technical Info
  Canon Eo6 R6 Leica D-lux 7
• Photo Date
  2024

Iurceni is a remote village nestled in the barren hills of central Moldova. Inhabited by 1300 people,the count is very approximate due to constant migration. Along the empty roads most of the houses are abandoned,the owners left for Europe in search of work.It is rare to meet anyone, those who remain, too old or too young to leave, take care of their homes. People fear the situation at the border after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and continue to entrust their hopes to prayer. In the land that wants to become Europe but has not yet cut the thin thread that still unites it to the old Russia.

Born in Northeast Italy and based between Italy and France, she graduated in Geography at La Sapienza University in Rome. Since the 1990s, she has promoted sustainable, low-impact tourism across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and remote corners of the world. A freelance documentary and street photographer, she focuses on ordinary lives,cultural stories and contemporary issues drawn to places far from the spotlight. Awarded in several international contests,her imagines have been published in magazines and books and she exhibited her work in Italy, USA, Spain, Greece and Japan.