338 anna bellavitis
renew this will as if it had never been made and then to make a new one
as he sees fit;... and i say this because of the profound changes that the
world undergoes from one day to the next in all of its things.” it seems that
the chosen affections counted more than predefined family roles. Perhaps
this will is a sign that something was changing and that, in some settings,
uncertainty about the future, about succession, and about transmission
could be accepted and taken into account without the need to confront
it by orchestrating complicated strategies whose outcome was uncertain.
the ideal of the fraterna, by this time devoid of mercantile justifications,
remained alive nevertheless, even in these bourgeois classes. indeed,
fathers resorted to classicizing metaphors, as in the case of the doctor
Francesco longo, who, in his attempt to persuade his sons to remain
united, reminded them that “the arrows of artaserse are more effective if
they are all propelled together” and asked them to “act as if they had no
inheritance, so that they may become skilled at an activity, to earn their
bread and to try to live on their work and their virtue.” Honesty, virtue,
and study are the words that recur constantly in wills and were values that
fathers wished to transmit to their sons.43
even maternal dowries were called upon to contribute directly to sons’
careers, in a family context in which the dowry was often the main form
of wealth that could be mobilized, not only for daughters’ dowries but
also for sons’ educational endeavors. maternal wills within these groups
exhibit a strong awareness of one’s economic “value,” which often trans-
lated into the desire to make decisions regarding sons’ careers. the will of
andriana Uberti, daughter of antonio, ducal secretary, and wife of Bonifa-
cio antelmi, also a ducal secretary, focused entirely on the careers of the
two sons. nevertheless, this mother, who had no daughters, maintained
her immovable goods in an indissoluble and perpetual fidei-commissum,
so as to prevent her sons from dispersing her goods but also enable their
introduction into society and into the workplace. in 1593, andriana Uberti
wrote that “they must dedicate themselves to some task or exercise, and
those who shall not do so will lose the rights to my bequests,” but, above
all, she added: “it is my will that my sons and descendants lose the benefit
of my revenues if they shall not pay the taxes due to the city.” this was
a strong claim to Venetian identity, an identity based on service to the
State, which is particularly striking in a woman’s will.44
43 Bellavitis, Famille, pp. 186 and 180.
44 Bellavitis, Famille, p. 196.