Italian Chapel Orkney

Italian Chapel revealing Nissen hut
� Gordon McKinlay

The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm is almost the only remaining evidence of Camp 60, one of two PoW camps (the other was Camp 34, Burray) occupied by the PoWs (mostly Italian) who worked on the construction of the Churchill Barriers. Much of the credit for this building is given to one man, artist and sculptor Domenico Chiocchetti, also responsible for the altarpiece.

The chapel is based on two Nissen huts which have been joined together in an east-west orientation, as per ecclesiastical tradition, with a bright frontispiece to the west having Doric columns supporting a pediment. A date panel surmounts the entrance, and carries the legend AD MCMXLIV (1944) with a pointed-arched bell cote above. The corrugated iron exterior is hidden behind a plasterboard interior wall, painted to represent a stone interior with a vaulted ceiling.

The building was renovated during the 1960s, and thousands of visitors now travel from throughout the world to visit the site.

Statue of St George

Statue of St George, and chapel
� Colin Smith

Southwest of the chapel is a statue depicting St George slaying the dragon, mounted on a plinth. Completed by the PoWs, the statue is constructed from concrete over a barbed wire armature, and carries the following inscription on the plinth:

P di C
Italiani
li 7-8-1943