View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook

 
Scotsitalian Board                  

 
View or Post to our Family Tree Message Board!

Whether over here or over there, what will the weather be in Edinburgh  or Rome.

I imagine the last place that the Italian soldiers fighting Mussolini's North African campaign believed they would end up would be the Orkney Islands.

Many of the prisoners of Camp 60 were employed on the island to build the Churchill Barriers used to halt German U-Boats from entering the harbours of Scapa Flow. This was decreed by Winston Churchill following the tragic sinking of the Royal Oak in 1939 with an estimated  loss of life of 800.

Making the most of their surroundings, the Italians constructed concrete pathways and were given Two 'Nissen' huts ( identified by their round basic shape and corrugated iron roofs), one to be used as a school, the other as the chapel. 

The Chapel at Lambholm (pictured above) was constructed from scrap metal and junk and today is considered a poignant symbol of peace and goodwill.

The chapel is testament to the vision of Domenico Chiocchetti, who using his artistic background, rallied his fellow inmates and built what is today one of Orkney's most visited and loved tourist attractions.

Chiocchetti was also responsible for the statue of St. George which stands proudly on the hill overlooking Lambholm. Constructed entirely of barbed wire and cement the base of the statue contains a scroll of  the names of the Italian prisoners.

Chioccetti stayed on to complete the chapel even after the prisoners were released as the War was nearing its end.

Letter by Chiocchetti to Orcadians on a visit in 1960 (to renovate the chapel)

"The chapel is yours - for you to love and preserve.  I take with me to Italy the remembrance of your kindness and wonderful hospitality.  I shall remember you always,
and my children shall learn from me to love you.  I thank (you)....for having given me the joy of seeing again little chapel of Lambholm where I, in leaving, leave a part of my heart."

Chiocchetti died in Moena in the Dolomites in 1999.

The Scots College in Rome celebrates 400 years !!

Founded by Pope Clement VIII in 1600, the college is the spiritual home to over half a million Catholics living in Scotland. The first students attended two years later and today still trains and prepares students for the priesthood. Adjoining the college is the chapel of St. Andrew the patron saint of Scotland. The 400th anniversary celebrations of the college was attended by Scotland's leading politicians as well as the Pontiff himself.

The late Cardinal Winning said of the event:

"I consider the Scots College in Rome to be the most important institution in the Scottish Catholic Church. Because when the Church was outlawed, Pope Clement VIII threw a lifeline to our beleaguered people by setting up a very humble centre in Rome to train priests for the home mission. Over the years the ministry of those priests has helped keep the faith alive in Scotland."

Proportionately the Scots College is the best attended of those in Rome.