Spinalonga Fort, Venetian fortress on Spinalonga island, Greece

Spinalonga Fort is a Venetian fortress built in 1586 on an island off Elounda, Crete, designed by engineer Genese Bressani with a ring of walls around the islet and two bastions on its highest north and south points. Its walls incorporate stone from the ancient acropolis of Olous, and about 200 Ottoman houses with pebble-paved lanes and whitewashed walls survive inside.

The Venetians cut the isthmus in 1526 to separate the peninsula from the mainland, and from 1579 to 1586 built the fortress on the island to the design of engineer Genese Bressani, protecting the port of Olous. It stayed Venetian until Ottoman forces took it in 1714–1718. From 14 December 1904 it held Crete's leprosy patients, joined after 1913 by patients from all of Greece; the last resident, a priest of the church of Saint Panteleimon, left in 1962.

The island's name comes from the Greek "Spinalonga", a corruption of the Venetian "Spina lunga" (long thorn). Ottoman families lived here until 1903, leaving about 200 whitewashed houses, 25 shops and cobbled lanes. From 1904 the settlement became a leper community with its own bars, barbers, theatre and a satirical magazine; patient Epameinondas Remoundakis installed loudspeakers that played classical music.

You can reach the island by boat from three nearby towns, with journeys taking 10 to 60 minutes depending on your starting point. The ground is flat and walkable throughout, but shade is limited, so bring water and sun protection.

The leper colony closed in 1957, but the last resident, a priest of the church of Saint Panteleimon, stayed until 1962. In the 1930s a generator brought electricity, and patient Epameinondas Remoundakis set up a theatre, a cinema and loudspeakers that played classical music across the island.