Spinalonga: Historic and Contemporary Value

Taking occasion from the artistic intervention of Costas Tsoklis, “Essi o telephteos Lepros”, (“You, the last leper "), in Spinalonga, I make a personal reference to this famous island of the Gulf of Mirabello.

For the first time I heard Spinalonga was in my nine years. Then the teacher, at the lesson of geography, told us about the lepers and their own, silent, bitter, unthinkable reality that they were living.

I remember, she told us about the church of Aghios (Saint) Panteleimon, which exists on the island, is built with the temple facing west, so patients residents wanted to show their pessimism about life and their regret that they would leave from this world.

But we were also told that Spinalonga was an organized place. The lepers had their own parliament, their own President, their own services and jobs, their priest, their democracy and indeed functioned flawlessly. Also, I read recently that, children born in the island from patients of Hansen's disease, parents who grew up them healthy, without those children develop the disease.

The first time I saw Spinalonga, was at my ten years. I saw from the opposite coast of Plaka village. I went there with my parents to eat fish at one of the many taverns that still exist. But I could not get across. I could 11 years later and I turned eagerly to. To see where and how those people lived in the legends had been subsisting. My imagination had rioted in, because of my teacher’s words.

I saw where they were meeting, where they were working. I saw, Aghios Panteleimon’s reverse sanctum, the alleys and the paths. A normal functioning medieval castle exists there until nowadays. That Spinalonga is.

I visited again on 14 years ago. But, then not a lot of people was crossing to the other side. Today, Spinalonga has become very famous. The name became even more famous because of the Victoria’s Hislop book, "The Island" (“To Nissi”) which was filmed and became an equally successful series for the Greek TV channel, "Mega." This pushed the reputation of Spinalonga soaring.

Now, Tsoklis’s intervention makes a new place of modern civilization for sure. The history of the island belongs to Crete, Greece, Europe and the World. It has to do with medicine, has to do with sociology, tourism, geography...

It's worth it. It’s a historic and contemporary value.

Note: The photos are from the website: spinalonga.eu