Patrimoni familiari indivisi e attività d'impresa in età moderna: il caso dei Salvadori di Trento

The recourse to undivided patrimonies for business purposes was not at all rare in the early modern period, the major example being the Venetian fraterna. Following a description of the main features of this practice, the article focuses on the case of the Salvadori of Trento, whose firm was based upon an undivided patrimony that belonged to an extended family from the second half of the seventeenth through the early nineteenth century. This case study provides some insights into the presence of a fraterna-like form of business organization in the Prince-Bishopric of Trento. Moreover, family and business records allow to trace thoroughly the evolution of the Salvadori’s strategy over more than a century and to analyse the role played by some key variables. It is thus possible to relate the adjustment in the family lineages involved in the undivided patrimony to the presence of actors capable of promoting family cohesion, the changing reproductive conditions, the family wealth and status, and the marriage policies.