By Nicolas Bard

Spinalonga, known in antiquity as Kalidonas, is a small islet on the north side of the Gulf of Elounda, just opposite the picturesque fishing village of Plaka.

The island was fortified with great care by the Venetians, who made sure that its architecture was in line with the landscape, and being a natural extension. The entire fortress complex maintains its glamor and imposing to date, and blends harmoniously with the natural environment. However, Spinalonga has not always been an island …

Venetian cartographer Vincenzo Koronelli argues that Spinalonga was not always an island, but was naturally united with the neighboring Pumpkin Peninsula.

He even mentions that in 1526 the Venetians destroyed part of the peninsula and artificially created the island. Due to its strategic location, the island has already been fortified since antiquity, in order to protect the entrance to the port of the ancient city of Olos.

The name of Spinalonga comes from the Latin words “Spina lunga”, which means “long thorn”, due to the narrow shape of the islet. The name was of course not a coincidence for the Venetians, as in Venice there was already an islet known as Spinalonga, today’s Tzundekka, who in antiquity brought the same importance. The island is only 0.100 sq. Km. And the ruins that still stand up there testify to the turbulent past.

This small and historical island was very closely linked to leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, as it functioned as a lamp. The first patients were transferred there in 1904. Until 1913, living conditions in Spinalonga were extremely difficult: inadequate feeding, lack of roofing and medical care, as well as complete social isolation. The boats in the neighboring plaque were filled with patients with patients who were transported and essentially abandoned to the islet.

After the union of Crete with Greece in 1913, patients began to be transported from the rest of the country to the Spinalonga Leprico. In 1925, physician Emmanouil Grammatikakis took over as director of the Leptomy, while in 1927 Spinalonga received a visit by French Nobel laureate Charles Nicolle, as an indication of international interest in the institution and its importance in the fight against Lepra.

The essential improvement of living conditions in Spinalonga began when the patients themselves founded the “Brotherhood of Patients Spinalonga Saint Panteleimon”. The leader of Athens Law, Epaminondas Remountakis, who arrived on the island in 1936 as a patient, played a leading role in this movement. During the period 1937–1939 new dorms began to be built, significantly improving patients’ housing.

Efforts are being stopped by the start of World War II. During the Occupation, living conditions on the island worsen dramatically: there are malnutrition deaths and many patients attempt to swim ashore to find food. During the Italian -German occupation, no Italian or German soldier entered the island, which allowed the operation of illegal radio. The director of the Leprico, doctor Emmanouil Grammatikakis, copied news from London and Cairo and distributed them to patients as bulletins. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, infrastructure improvements were made, but not in medical care. Although the treatment for leprosy was already discovered in 1941, Spinalonga was only applied in Spinalonga in 1948, with spectacular results.

The gradual evacuation of the island began in 1956. In 1957, the last thirty patients were transferred to the Anti -Stillric Station of St. Barbara Infectious Disease Hospital in Athens and the Spinalonga lamp is finally closed.

Today a large number of tourists visits this small historical and desperate island, and browsing its straits, telling stories and hiding within them human pain and redemption. However, the ticket to enter Spinalonga is now 20 euros, compared to the 8 last year, which has sparked both the reactions of the locals and visitors.

What does the future hold for this historic islet?