I am not an archaeologist by training, even if I have been always interested in the topic and I knew the work and name of Simon before engaging with the field. In 2014, Simon wrote to me to offer me a position in the Portus Limen project after I just finished my PhD in law, and this experience together with Simon’s mentorship is something that has had a deep influence in my way of understanding antiquity, in how to address the sources. I will never forget his supervision meetings, his lessons at portus, or even his last email the past July 2020, in which he was so encouraging about the next steps that I was taking in my career. He will be trully missed.