On one of the smaller islands in Orkney - Lamb Holm - you'll find a Roman Catholic chapel with a difference. At first glance this might look like any other chapel but on closer inspection it is built out of two Nissen Huts and has the most amazing story.
The Italian Chapel was built by Italian prisoners of war who had been captured in North Africa and were held in the Orkney Islands in the Second World War.
First of all a brief bit of history. Following deadly attacks on British warships in Scapa Flow in 1939, Churchill ordered the construction of barriers to close off four of the entrances to Scapa Flow. These remain there to this day and form the causeways between the smaller islands.
A shortage of manpower due to the war effort meant that a group of 600 Italian POWs were sent to Lamb Holm to work on building the so called Churchill Barriers.
The camp priest asked the British if the men could have a chapel and it was agreed that two Nissen Huts could be converted in to a make shift chapel for the POWs.
The huts were transformed in to the most amazing chapel - Domenico Chiocchetti, an artist, is credited with leading the group and the entire project was completed using whatever materials the men could lay their hands on.
I am not a religious person by any means but I would urge anyone to visit The Italian Chapel - it has an incredible history and is just the most moving and spectacular place.
Since the end of the war there has been strong links between Moena in Itlay (Chiocchetti's home town) and Orkney. There is an Preservation Committee and regular work is done to maintain this beautiful chapel.
It has now become one of the most popular tourist sites on Orkney and has around 100,000 visitors per year.
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