The Italian Chapel

The Italian Chapel, situated on Lamb Holm, was built by the Italian POW's during the construction of the Churchill Barriers in World War II. Nissen huts disguise a beautiful and remarkable interior. Prisoners lined the corrugated iron with plasterboard and constructed an altar. Domenico Chioccetti painted a Madonna and child and a fresco of a white dove. The whole hut was lined, the top being painted to look like brick, the bottom to look like marble. The Italian Chapel is one of the most visited monuments in Orkney, and is a fitting memorial to those lost in wartime. "Photograph courtesy of the Orkney Tourist Board"