Fig. 43.—Labyrinth in Lucca Cathedral. (Durand.)
They seem to have been constructed chiefly during the twelfth century, and although several of them have been destroyed many fine examples still remain. Some are formed on the walls instead of the pavements, and in such cases are of smaller dimensions.
Fig. 44.—Labyrinth in S. Michele, Pavia. (Ciampini.)
On the whole, too, those in the Italian churches are much smaller than the French specimens. On the wall of Lucca Cathedral ([Fig. 43]) is one of a diameter of only 1 ft. 7½ in. It formerly enclosed at the centre a representation of Theseus and the Minotaur, but owing to the friction of many generations of tracing fingers this has become effaced. Opposite the "entrance" is the inscription:
HIC QUEM CRETICUS EDIT DAEDALUS EST LABERINTHUS, DE QUO NULLUS VADERE QUIVIT QUI FUIT INTUS, NI THESEUS GRATIS ADRIANE STAMINE JUTUS.
A similar small labyrinth, with a central Theseus-Minotaur design, is to be found on the wall of the church of San Michele Maggiore at Pavia ([Fig. 44]). It is thought to be of tenth-century construction. This is one of the few cases where the Minotaur is represented with a human head and a beast's body—as a sort of Centaur, in fact. It is accompanied by the words "TESEUS INTRAVIT MONSTRUMQUE BIFORME NECAVIT."
Fig. 45. Labyrinth in S. Maria-di-Trastavera, Rome. (Durand)