Spinalonga, the island of the leper colony.

Spinalonga is an island located in Elounda Bay, in the northeast of Crete, in Lasithi, near the town of Plaka.From 1903 through 1957, the island was used as a leper colony. The island’s final resident, a priest, stayed until 1962 to uphold the Greek Orthodox practise of honouring a person who has been buried for 40 days, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years since their death. The “Gate of Dante” was one of two entrances to Spinalonga, the other being the gate of the lepers. The patients had no idea what would happen to them once they arrived, hence the moniker. They did, however, receive food, water, medical treatment, and social security benefits once they arrived on the island. Previously, lepers in Crete did not have access to such services because they lived largely in caves in the area, far from civilization.Spinalonga was one of Europe’s last operational leper colonies, with Tichilești in eastern Romania, Fontilles in Spain, and Talsi in Latvia among those who survived. Few hospitals have remained in Europe since 2002.