In Spinalonga , along the main road of the settlement, just north of the church of Agios Panteleimonas, is located building 102. At first glance, it appears to be an ordinary two-story building with a raised ground floor and utility rooms, but within its walls lies a remarkable history.
What makes building 102 unique are the murals discovered on the upper floor, dating back to the time of the Leper Colony. The people there, despite their isolation and illness, sought beauty and hope. “ They escaped pain, sadness, loneliness and stigma by turning to their imagination and memories. In art, they found refuge and a way to bring color to the gray of everyday life ” (AmazingLassithi).
The unknown painter, probably one of the patients, depicted scenes of everyday life, human figures, exotic trees and oversized birds, such as peacocks. A special detail is the depiction of a seaplane . It is believed that it was added in the 1930s, when the British company Imperial Airways used the bay of Elounda as a stopover for its seaplanes that operated the route to India. The patients saw these “symbols of freedom” and imprinted them on their walls. Memories of the house and his former life acted as an antidote to the isolation of the island. It transformed a cold, stone chamber into a “home”, a space where beauty still had a place.
Source: Leonidas for Anatolh.com