Italian Chapel to introduce custodians and charges

Full-time custodians are to be employed at Orkney’s Italian Chapel next year, in a bid to manage increasing numbers of visitors and to help protect the fabric of the building.

An admission charge will also to be introduced to help cover the costs of employing the custodians.

The measures have been agreed by the Italian Chapel Preservation Committee, which oversees the care of the World War Two building.

According to the committee, the chapel is likely to be closed for several weeks, starting in January 2016, with the charging and custodian service introduced on its re-opening.