Stefano Tiepolo, a Venetian nobleman from an illustrious family, stipulated in his will of 1550 that his five sons should live together under one roof at equal expense until the youngest among them reaches the age of thirty.[1] This requirement was meant to limit marriages on the presumption that there is a limit everywhere to the number of women who can live in harmony under one roof. Of course, fewer marriages promised the preservation of the family’s wealth. A touching example of fatherly love!

Footnote

1. Davis, J., The Decline of the Venetian Nobility as a Ruling Class, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1962, p. 64.