What is 'Dante's Gate' and why did the colony residents give it that name?

Dante's Gate is the main entrance tunnel to Spinalonga — the original Venetian land gate that serves as the primary way into the island. The colony's residents named it after the passage in Dante's Inferno that leads into Hell ('Abandon all hope, ye who enter here'), a grim reflection on the experience of arriving at the island as a newly diagnosed leper in the early 20th century. For residents of the colony, passing through the gate meant permanent separation from family and mainland life — at least until effective treatment became available. The name stuck and is now one of the most referenced features in Victoria Hislop's novel.

How long did people live in the Spinalonga colony, and what was life like there?

The colony operated from 1903 to 1957 — 54 years. Conditions improved substantially over that period: in the early decades the colony was extremely poor, with inadequate facilities and high mortality; by the 1930s, residents had organised a functioning community with shops, a cafe, a barbershop, a church, and social structures. The colony even had a small internal economy, as some residents ran businesses. Dapsone treatment, which suppressed leprosy effectively enough to allow most patients to lead near-normal lives, arrived in the 1940s and made quarantine medically unnecessary; the last residents left in 1957. The village inside the fortress, with its Venetian-era buildings adapted for 20th-century residential use, remains essentially as the last residents left it.

Spinalonga Island Fortress

Νησίδα Σπιναλόγκα

Greece · Elounda, Lasithi, Crete, Greece · Near Elounda

Built 1579 · Venetian island fortress built 1579 on a small rocky islet in the Gulf of Elounda; massive bastions designed to close the approach to the Mirabello Bay; later repurposed as a Greek leper colony (1903–1957) — one of the last active leprosaria in Europe; the inhabited village within the walls survives largely intact

This page is part of an independent travel guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by Spinalonga Island Fortress.

Spinalonga Island Fortress in the Gulf of Elounda, Crete, Greece — the 1579 Venetian fortress turned leper colony, viewed from the water with its massive bastions rising above the turquoise Aegean

Quick Facts

Hours: Daily 08:00–20:00
Guided tour from: €38
Duration: 1.5–2 hours on the island; half-day including boat transfers
Best time: April to October
Nearest city: Elounda

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Highlights

✦One of the most emotionally resonant sites in Greece — Spinalonga served as a Greek leper colony from 1903 to 1957, one of the last inhabited leprosaria in Europe; the preserved village streets, houses, church, and social facilities within the fortress walls tell a human story of isolation and community that makes it unlike any other Venetian fortress
✦Victoria Hislop's 'The Island' (2005) — the bestselling novel set on Spinalonga brought international attention to the colony's history; the book and its BBC television adaptation (2010) made the island one of Crete's most visited sites, with readers and viewers arriving to walk the streets that Hislop described
✦The Venetian fortress (1579) — built to guard the approach to Mirabello Bay, Spinalonga was the last Venetian fortification in the Aegean to fall to Ottoman forces, holding out until 1715 (after most of Crete had been conquered in 1669); the massive Venetian bastions and artillery platforms define the island's profile from the sea
✦IMPORTANT — entry fee paid on-site: The €20 Spinalonga Island entry fee is NOT included in the GYG day tour from Elounda (t412347, from €38). The GYG tour price covers boat transfers from Elounda and a professional guide. Budget approximately €58 total per adult (€38 GYG + €20 entry) for the complete experience. EU citizens under 25 and non-EU children under 18 may qualify for free or reduced entry with valid ID.
✦The Gulf of Elounda setting — the islet sits in a sheltered bay between the Elounda peninsula and the Cretan coast; the views from the fortress walls over the turquoise water and the surrounding mountains are among the most beautiful of any Aegean heritage site

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Spinalonga is a small rocky islet in the Gulf of Elounda, on the northeastern coast of Crete, accessible only by boat from the villages of Elounda and Plaka. The Venetian Republic built a fortress here in 1579 to protect the approach to Mirabello Bay — and it proved an exceptional defensive position. When Ottoman forces completed their conquest of Crete in 1669, Spinalonga was one of only three Venetian outposts on the island to hold out; it finally fell in 1715, making it one of the last Venetian-held positions in the entire eastern Mediterranean, more than four decades after the rest of Crete had been absorbed into the Ottoman Empire.

The island's second and more haunting chapter began in 1903, when the Greek government established a leper colony within the fortress walls. Leprosy (Hansen's disease) was then considered highly contagious and carried a social stigma that led to the forced isolation of those diagnosed. Spinalonga's island geography made it an ideal quarantine site. At its peak, several hundred people lived in the colony — a functioning community with a church, cafes, a barbershop, and even a small economy, built within the Venetian streets and houses inside the fortress walls. The colony closed in 1957 when effective treatment with dapsone made quarantine medically unnecessary; Greece was among the last countries in Europe to maintain an active leprosarium.

Victoria Hislop's novel 'The Island' (2005) told the story of a family connected to the Spinalonga colony, making the island internationally known. The book spent years on British bestseller lists and was adapted by the BBC as 'To Agkistri' (The Island) in 2010. The result was a major increase in visitors — many of them arriving with the novel in hand, walking the same streets and entering through the same gate ('Dante's Gate') that Hislop described.

**The €20 Spinalonga island entry fee is confirmed EXCLUDED from the GYG tour price.** The GYG day tour from Elounda (t412347, from €38/person) covers the boat transfer from Elounda and a professional guide's time on the island. The island entry ticket (€20 per adult, purchased at the ticket booth on the island) is paid separately, on-site. The realistic total cost for most adult visitors is approximately €58 — €38 for the GYG tour plus €20 for island entry. EU citizens under 25 enter free with valid ID; check current concession eligibility before booking.

History

The Venetian fortress on Spinalonga was constructed in 1579 as part of a programme of Cretan coastal fortification, designed to control the sea approaches to Mirabello Bay in the northeast of the island. When the Ottoman Empire's campaign to capture Crete began in earnest in 1645, Spinalonga's island position made it extraordinarily difficult to besiege — unlike mainland fortifications, it could be resupplied by sea as long as Venetian naval power remained. The island held through the fall of Heraklion (1669) and continued as a Venetian enclave for another 46 years, finally surrendering in 1715 in a negotiated handover. Ottoman administration of the island lasted until 1898, when Crete came under European great-power administration following the Cretan revolt; the remaining Turkish population was evacuated in 1903 and the Greek government immediately established the leper colony. The colony's decades of operation left the village inside the walls in the condition visitors see today — a ghost town of Venetian-era buildings adapted for 20th-century residential use. Since the colony's closure in 1957, the island has been a protected archaeological and historical site.

How to Visit

Getting there: Elounda is approximately 12 km north of Agios Nikolaos, the main town of the Lasithi region of eastern Crete. Regular boat services depart from Elounda harbour and the village of Plaka for Spinalonga throughout the day in season (the crossing takes about 15 minutes from Elounda, 5 minutes from Plaka). The GYG day tour (t412347) departs from Elounda and includes the boat transfers.

Tickets: The Spinalonga island entry fee is €20 per adult (payable on-site at the island ticket booth — not included in the GYG tour price). EU citizens under 25 and non-EU children under 18 may enter free or at reduced cost with valid ID — confirm current concessions at the time of visit. The GYG guided tour from Elounda (t412347, from €38 per person, 4.7★ / 5,300 reviews) covers the boat transfer and a professional guide. Total realistic cost for most adult visitors: approximately €58 (€38 GYG + €20 entry). Book the GYG tour in advance in summer — the tour is very popular.

Practical tips: Enter through 'Dante's Gate' — the original Venetian land gate, named by the colony residents for its association with the descent into isolation. The main village street runs through the interior of the fortress; allow 1.5–2 hours for a thorough walk. The Venetian bastions at the seaward end are the best photography position, with views over the Gulf of Elounda. Read Victoria Hislop's 'The Island' before visiting for maximum context on the colony years.

Combine with: [Fortezza of Rethymno](/castles/greece/fortezza-of-rethymno) (~150 km west on Crete's northern coast — one of the largest Venetian fortresses ever built, with entrance included in the GYG tour and a certified local guide) and [Palace of the Grand Master](/castles/greece/palace-of-the-grand-master) (~310 km northwest on Rhodes — the restored 14th-century Knights Hospitaller palace in the walled old town of Rhodes, a complementary perspective on Venetian and Crusader Mediterranean military history).

Frequently Asked Questions

Correct — the €20 Spinalonga island entry fee is confirmed EXCLUDED from the GYG tour price (t412347, from €38). This is explicitly stated in the tour's 'Know before you go' section on the GYG product page. The GYG price covers the boat transfer from Elounda and the professional guide's time on the island. The island entry ticket is a separately administered fee collected by the Greek Ministry of Culture at the ticket booth on the island itself, and tour operators are not permitted to bundle it into their tour pricing. Budget approximately €58 total per adult (€38 GYG + €20 entry). EU citizens under 25 with valid EU student ID enter free.