The Italian Chapel, Orkney, Scotland

The Italian Chapel

The Italian Chapel, and a statue of St. George slaying the dragon near it , are all that remain of a WWII camp built in Orkney for Italian prisoners of war. The prisoners were devout Roman Catholics and there was no church in the camp. With the permission and assistance of the camp commander and guards, the chapel was built by the prisoners themselves of contrete and the scrap metal they were allowed to cut from the Barrier ships (ships intentionally sunk by the British to keep German U-Boats from getting through the shallows between the islands) near the camp. The realistic look of marble and tile was achieved with paint.

	The Altar and Ceiling The painting of the Madonna over the alter was copied from a postcard given to one of the prisoners by his mother as he boarded the train to join the Italian Army.
The entry door and baptismal font. There is no tile stone or marble in the building. The concrete, wall board and steel were painted by the prisoners to look like the more elegant traditional materials.
	Looking towards the Altar With the indulgence of the camp commander, the prisoners utilized two small semi-cylindrical buildings called Nissen Huts, surplus wall board, paint and scrap metal cut from the nearby barrier ships to fashion this beautiful chapel.
Some Good has Been Created The children and now the grandchildren of the original prisoners come back regularly to maintain the chapel. They are made welcome in the homes of the Orkadians as honored guests and dear friends. The Orkadians are very proud of the chapel and every bus carrying passengers from the John'O Grots ferry landing to Kirkwall stops there so people can marvel at it too.

The Altar and Ceiling

The painting of the Madonna over the alter was copied from a postcard given to one of the prisoners by his mother as he boarded the train to join the Italian Army.

©1997 JP Redman