Ep.4 Giustizia (Justice) - Vox Mercatoria, il podcast del progetto ERC MICOLL

When we think of the personification of Justice, most of us picture a woman holding a pair of scales and perhaps a sword. Many also imagine her blindfolded. But has Justice always been represented in this way? For centuries, courthouses, town halls and other public buildings were decorated with images intended to remind judges, litigants and citizens what it meant to administer justice properly. These images were not merely decorative. They were powerful instruments of legal, political and moral communication. In most episodes of this podcast, we begin with a word—a word such as debt, profit, risk or bankruptcy—and use it as a starting point to explore the history of commerce, law and mercantile culture. Today, however, we will do something slightly different. Instead of beginning with a word, we will begin with an image. And, for the first time in this series, the conversation will be in English. *Hosted by:* Professor Stefania Gialdroni (University of Padua) *Featuring:* Professor Georges Martyn (Ghent University), Dr Valeria Paruzzo (University of Padua) and Dr Bettina Pfotenhauer (University of Padua). Vox Mercatoria is the podcast of the ERC-funded MICOLL project, exploring the relationship between commercial law and mercantile language. In each episode, we begin with a word to tell the story of law, commerce and mercantile cultures across the centuries. Migrating Commercial Law and Language (MICOLL): Rethinking Lex Mercatoria (11th–17th Century). European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant 2020, 101002084 — MICOLL (2021–2026), [www.micoll-erc.eu](http://www.micoll-erc.eu/).