Matteo Marrone e la querela inofficiosi testamenti

Abstract

The querela inofficiosi testamenti represents the earliest historical antecedent of the modern concept of forced heirship. Through this legal instrument, the closest relatives of a testator could challenge and nullify a will from which they had been unjustly excluded, thereby initiating intestate succession. This article first traces the scholarly trajectory that led Matteo Marrone, in the mid-20th century, to reconstruct the legal framework of this action as developed in Roman law from the pre-classical to the classical period. It then outlines the structure of his Course of Lessons, published in 1962 in Palermo as a monographic course intended for students of Roman law. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate the reasons behind the new edition of this Course, now made accessible to a broader audience of scholars in inheritance law, both historical and contemporary.