Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

LAMB HOLM, THE ITALIAN CHAPEL, (ROMAN CATHOLIC), INCLUDING STATUELB12728

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
04/06/1987
Supplementary Information Updated
16/09/1999
Local Authority
Orkney Islands
Planning Authority
Orkney Islands
Parish
Holm
NGR
HY 48763 594
Coordinates
348763, 1000594

Description

Domenico Chiocchetti and others, 1942-4. Single storey, gable-fronted chapel comprising 2 Nissen huts arranged end-to-end, with pedimented entrance porch, bellcote breaking gable apex and fleur-de-lys pinnacled buttresses. Cement render over corrugated-iron. Base course; pointed-arched pendant band to gable and around plain terminal buttresses; crocketted skews.

E (PRINCIPAL, ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: Doric columns supporting pediment bearing red clay roundel depicting the head of Christ; Doric pilasters flanking deep-set boarded door; mosaic date panel to entrance, 'A D MCMXLIV'; pointed-arched bellcote with wrought-iron balustrade below crocketted pediment; cast-iron Celtic cross to gablehead above. Pointed arched narrow windows flanking door.

N AND S (SIDE) ELEVATIONS: long, 2-bay elevations: evenly disposed flat-roofed dormer in each bay.

Fixed timber-framed windows with painted glass. Modern felt barrel vaulted roof.

INTERIOR: elaborately painted nave and sanctuary, by Chiocchetti and others (see Notes), separated by triple-arched wrought-iron screen by Palumbo. Nave: lined with plasterboard, painted as brickwork; area around E windows painted as plaster fields infilled with gothic trefoil arches and motifs; gothic roundels to ceiling; door and windows to E end flanked by painted, vine-covered columns and imitation carved stone panels. Dado: painted as imitation carved stone panels. Sanctuary: elaborated decorated by Domenico Chiocchetti. Madonna and Child altarpiece copied from Nicolo Barabino (1832-1891; painted glass windows flanking, to the right depicting St Francis of Assisi, on the left St Catherine of Siena; vault ceiling painted as fielded plasterwork through which can be seen a celestial sky; painted trefoil 'niches' depicting the four evangelists with 2 full-length cherubim and seraphim below. Lined cement floor; moulded concrete altar, altar-rail, font and holy water stoop; 14 timber carved stations of the cross (gifted 1964; see Notes); gold sanctuary curtains; purpose-made iron and brass canelabra; timber tabernacle.

STATUE: cement statue of St George slaying the dragon, raised on painted, panelled and corniced rectangular-plan plinth sited to W of chapel entrance, einscribed, 'D di C, ITALIANI, Li 7-8-1943.

Statement of Special Interest

One of Orkney's most important surviving structures from the Second World War, the Italian Chapel is the only relic of Camp 60 which housed several hundred Italian prisoners. These men, captured during the North African campaign, were sent to Orkney to work on the Churchill Barriers. The Italians, led by the particularly artistic Domenico Chiocchetti, brightened their otherwise drab surroundings by planting the area with flowers, and embellishing the 'square' with a barbed wire and cement-covered statue of St George. With the permission of a new commandant, Major T P Buckland, and the encouragement of the padre, Father P Gioachino Giacobazzi, Chioccetti masterminded the creation of a Roman Catholic chapel to fulfil the spiritual requirements of the prisoners. In 1943 two Nissen huts were made available to the prisoners and Chiocchetti enlisted the help of several comrades to help him transform it. Prominent among these men were Bruttapasta, a cement worker; Palumbo, a smith; Primavera and Micheloni, electricians; Barcaglioni, Batto, Devitto, Fornaiser, Pennisi, Sforza and others. All were deft at utilising second-hand and mostly scrap materials to make their chapel, the timber for the tabernacle being salvaged from a wrecked ship. The gold curtains for the sanctuary were purchased from a firm in Exeter and paid for from the prisoners' welfare fund. Chiocchetti began work on the sanctuary, which, having been completed, rendered the remainder of the chapel somewhat dull. Consequently, a decoration scheme for the nave and the east end was commenced. The elaborate design involved painting the entire chapel in imitation brickwork and carved stone, a task too large for one man so a painter from another camp was sent to work under Chiocchetti's direction. The facade was constructed after the interior had been decorated and finally a thick coat of cement was applied to cover the unsightly corrugated-iron.

After the war, in July 1958, with only the chapel and the statue remaining of Camp 60, a preservation committee was set up to ensure a future for the now famous chapel. In 1960 Domenico Chiocchetti was traced to Moena, a village in the Dolomites and returned to Orkney for three weeks to embark on a restoration programme. With the assistance of Mr Stanley of Kirkwall, the paintwork was restored and major repairs were undertaken. In 1961 the carved figure of Christ, which stands to the right of the chapel entrance, was gifted to the island by the citizens of Chiocchetti's home town, Moena; the cross and canopy were made in Kirkwall from detailed instructions sent by Signor Chiocchetti to the preservation committee. In 1964, Chiocchetti again visited the chapel, and his wife Maria made a gift of the 14 carved timber stations of the cross. In 1992, fifty years after they first arrived on the island a group of eight former prisoners (this time excluding Chiocchetti) returned to the chapel and Mass was again celebrated.

References

Bibliography

3RD S A, (1953) p 64; Chapel Preservation Committee, ORKNEY'S ITALIAN CHAPEL (circa 1970); L Burgher, ORKNEY, AN ILLUSTRATED ARCHITECTURAL GUIDE (1991), p 61; Kirkwall Archives, D31/27; The Independent, November 1991; A Ritchie, ORKNEY (1996) p 48.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 15:45