Voltaire... Voltaire... Sciascia e l’illuminismo giuridico ne Il contesto

In Il contesto, Sciascia shows a deep understanding of Voltaire’s role in his battle for tolerance and the reform of the criminal procedure. The Calas Case, which is the subject of Voltaire’s treatise, forms the backdrop for the entire novel. Hence the need to illustrate more analytically both the dynamics of the Calas trial, which presents aspects little known even to legal historiography itself, and the relationship between Voltaire and jurists. Here, an attempt is made to understand to what extent Sciascia was fascinated by the famous Enlightenment philosopherwith regard to the foundations of the trial.