You are specialised in Roman law, in particular the commercial and maritime aspects. What motivated you to specialise in this area?
I am a Humanities person, so when I studied law, I was always more attracted to this part of history and Roman law.

And then you got a PhD in Archaeology.
My thesis co-supervisor was from Palermo and was a lawyer and archaeologist, a peculiar combination. He always told me that we cannot understand ancient times and Roman law if we do not understand its practical side, and for that we need archaeology. Ancient texts give us a lot of information, but archaeology provides us with an insight into the everyday life of the time. 

You have received a María Zambrano grant as an international talent and now you have a Ramón y Cajal contract. What does it mean for your research?
It is a platform for me to continue working and researching. It is a great achievement for my career and an opportunity to settle in a university like UIC Barcelona, as a lecturer and, especially as a researcher.

What is the current focus of your research?
For the last two years I have been combining teaching Roman law with work on two books. I am mainly focused on working on a monograph on how Roman trade worked in practice during the High Empire.

How does one study such an ancient civilisation?
I study commercial inscriptions, which we can find for example in the inscriptions painted on amphorae and contrast them with the legal texts they had at the time to see how they worked in daily practice, for example with long-distance trade.

What are you finding out?
Among many other things, I am trying to answer the question to what extent Roman law is a reflection of the social and intellectual environments where it emerged from, or whether it is also a manifestation of the realities of everyday life.

What about the other monograph you are working on?
It is a reference monograph for a Cambridge collection that would almost be a long article, dealing with the river ports of Rome, always considering the legal approach to the subject.

One of the attractions of Roman law is that it can be studied anywhere in the world. You have been to French, English, German universities…
Roman law is a very international law, due to the great influence it has had on Western legal systems. I always tell my students and they are surprised.

It allows you to connect with very different cultures and have a common theme.
I am currently doing an online specialisation course at Sapienza University in Rome, which I have been wanting to do for a long time, and half of the students there are from China. 

How is that so?
The Chinese Civil Code has been recently renewed and is based on the institutions of Gaius, a Roman law manual from the 2nd century AD. So many Chinese have signed up for this course in Rome to become civil lawyers in their own country. This influence of Roman law on civil codes in countries outside Europe makes the discipline also interesting in non-European countries such as the United States or Latin America, even South Africa. 

How important is Roman law today and why do we need to study it?
It is an essential subject for the first-year law student, but at the same time a difficult one. It helps the student lay the foundations and begin to understand what law is. It serves, for example, to understand what institutions we have today, to understand what an obligation consists of, or basic principles of civil procedure such as litis contestatio.

How do you think Roman law influences modern law?
Roman law influenced modern law by providing fundamental concepts such as property, contract and civil liability, as well as serving as a basis for codification in civil legal systems. Its legacy is reflected in the structure of private law, the systematisation of rules and legal interpretation in many countries. 

How do you see the future of Roman law in academia and its relevance in the training of lawyers in the future?
I hope that this subject will continue, although there are universities that are even stopping teaching it. The future of Roman law in academia will depend on its ability to adapt to new methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches. It remains essential for understanding civil law principles, legal developments and legal reasoning. In the training of lawyers, its importance will depend on how it is integrated with comparative law studies, legal theory and practical applications in modern legal systems. Its value lies in providing a solid conceptual basis and an essential historical perspective for the interpretation of contemporary law.

How does the teaching of Roman law, which is so ancient, adapt to today's students, who often have a more practical approach to law? 
Precisely what students like most is that we study Roman law in a practical way, solving the practical cases that I propose or even representing some of the judicial mechanisms used in Roman law. Visual aids also help. As a doctor of archaeology, I share, for example, inscriptions or some document of the practice that we have, even videos, because we are lucky that Roman culture is part of popular culture and there is a lot of content in series or films.

UIC Barcelona currently has five researchers with a Ramón y Cajal contract, one of the most prestigious and competitive funding calls in Spain, awarded to researchers for their outstanding career.