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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-04-16
CONTENTS
[01] Former leper colony of Spinalonga, now a UNESCO-listed site,
gets improvements
[01] Former leper colony of Spinalonga, now a UNESCO-listed site,
gets improvements
ANA-MPA - Sixteen buildings of the former leper colony of Spinalonga, an
island off northeastern Crete that has been designated an archaeological
site, will be reinforced and cleaned up as part of works to promote
the island as a tourist destination.
Two studies were approved by the Central Archaeological Council at its
latest session, on Tuesday, involving both the propping of buildings
and improvements on tourist accessibility, following a surge in tourist
arrivals on the island and its inclusion in the list of UNESCO's cultural
monuments.
The island and its history have served as background for films and books,
the latest being a historical novel ("The Island") by Victoria Hislop,
which was made into a TV series by a private Greek channel.
The buildings that will be reinforced and cleaned up are currently in a
state of ruin. They are single-storey and two-storey buildings and one
preserves graffiti from the 50-year era the colony existed.
As of this year's tourist period, the island will be receiving visitors
from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the framework of the Culture ministry's
pilot programme that includes 33 archaeological sites and museums.
Spinalonga is situated at the northern entrance of the gulf of Elounda,
in the prefecture of Lasithi. Ancient and medieval remnants compose the
turbulent history of the island, which operated as a leper colony from
1903 until 1957.
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