Spinalonga

Spinalonga is a small island at the entrance to Elounda Bay in Crete. Its visible layers include Venetian fortifications, Ottoman-era houses, and the remains of the leprosy colony that operated from 1903 to 1957. The island’s history is not one of uninterrupted abandonment: families lived there, worked there, and formed a community under a policy of compulsory isolation. The settlement had homes, a church, shops, and public spaces because residents built lives within the restrictions imposed on them.