Last weekend, I finally got to see the painting used for the cover of my book The Birth of Territory for the first time. It’s in the Palazzo d’Accursio in Bologna. The painting is by Luigi Serra, Irnerio che glossa le leggi, from 1886. Irnerius was a glossator on Roman law, and I discuss him and some of the other glossators in the book. It was originally on a ceiling but moved to a wall.

Update: I should have added that I briefly discuss the painting in the book (pp. 216-17). I shared that passage when I first was able to announce the cover – here.