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- Built by Italian POW's during WW2.
- Maintenance History
- The chapel was completed in 1944, just before departure of Italian POW's (majority to Overdale Camp, Skipton, Yorkshire), on 9th September 1944. (POW's within Camp 34 (additional Italian POW camp on Orkney ) left in 1945).
Domenico Chiochetti (the primary artist) remained behind to complete the font and then joined others in Yorkshire before returning home to Italy. The chapel remained within the confines of the camp area that was still closed off from public access. It began to fall in to disrepair and to appear bleak. POW camps were intended to be cleared after the end of the war and land returned to the original owners, in a condition as near as possible to how they were before being used as camps. The chapel should have been demolished at this stage however the chapel survived the clearing of the camp (unlike the chapel at Camp 34) thanks to a member of the Balfour Beatty gang who were presented with the task of camp clearance: Thomas Alexander Thomson. Thomson, as an Elder in the Church of Scotland, claimed that it should not be taken down as it was a holy place that should be left alone. He spoke to the others in the gang and ultimately all evidence of the camp was removed but the chapel remained.
The chapel served as a local/tourist attraction during forthcoming years but soon fell into further disrepair due to the effects of the Orkney climate, as no one was actually looking after it. The rood screen began to rust and the cross at the top of the bell tower snapped off. The main door rotted, letting in not only the elements of weather but also mice. The facade began to move away from the hut and Christ's face on the facade began to wear away. Some visitors then vandalised the chapel by writing graffiti on the walls. By 1958 the chapel was in a sorry state. Father Joseph-Ryland Whitaker, Lord Lieutenant Mr Sutherland Graeme and the locals decided that they needed to repair their 'gem' and the Italian Chapel Preservation Committee was formed. It was decided that the chapel needed urgent attention and immediate repairs were carried out by locals tradesmen however it was decided that, long term, only one man really knew how to return it to it's original state of beauty; the original primary artist, Domenico Chiochetti. An appeal was launched to find Chiochetti via the BBC. He was located in Moena, Italy where he had returned after the war and had become a house painter.
Chiochetti returned to Orkney in March 1960 and worked for three weeks, with the help of a Kirkwall man, Stanley Hall.
Chiochetti returned to Orkney several times until he was no longer able to travel due to ill health. He died in 7th May 1999 aged 88 years (and 51 weeks).
The Italian Chapel Preservation Committee still works continuously to maintain and to restore the chapel, as required. Ongoing works, intended to keep the chapel as original as possible whilst prolonging the life of a building which is essentially a Nissen hut (only intended to last circa 20 years) have included: repairing areas where tourists have torn off sections of the wall, replacement of disintegrated plasterboard, repair of water leakage access points, cutting out of rotted plasterboard, input of new supports to fix plasterboard to, removal of rust from under the surface of the painted dove, replacement of original windows meaning the loss of Chiochetti's painted glass, the placing of a layer of bitumen over the entire exterior of the building as the concrete applied by the POW's no longer protected the exterior, installation of drainage facilities, reinforcement of the bell tower, removal of the bell rope, repairs to the lantern chains, the installation of a dehumidifier, black staining of the Wayside Shrine...all whilst trying to peel away the original artwork, and replace it after repairs to retain the original look.
The chapel is described as being in a fragile state.