Colour photograph, 1996
Survey by RCAHMS
A conjoined pair of Nissen huts stands as one of the most treasured sites on the Orkney Isles. No ordinary remnant of the Second World War, the Italian Chapel is a testament to the skill and devotion of a group of Italian prisoners of war incarcerated at Camp 60 on the island of Lamb Holm during the conflict.
The POWs mainly used scrap and salvage material in the chapel’s construction. With ingenious use made of all available resources, such as tiles rescued from the toilets of a sunken German blockship to decorate the altar and reinforcing rods of concrete blocks to shape the rood screen. The interior also features a beautiful fresco painted by Domenico Chiocchetti, the principal creator of the building.
Envisaged as a building that would be short-lived, The Italian Chapel has become a much loved site for locals and people regularly travel from afar to visit it.