A cassapanca is a piece of furniture for seating, a chest-shaped bench, equipped with a full backrest and armrests. It was usually richly decorated, most often with carvings, i.e., carved ornaments. It likely developed in the 15th or 16th century from the cassone, a decorative chest traditionally used in Italy, usually as a wedding gift, a type of dowry chest. Cassones were usually rectangular and also richly decorated, both with carvings and paintings. The addition of a backrest and armrests resulted in a new piece of furniture – the cassone, which otherwise retained the features of the chest. Its seat was also the age of the chest. Known since the Renaissance, the cassapanca was popular in the 17th century and again in the 19th, during the Historicist period. 19th-century cassapancas sometimes had an upholstered seat, backrest, and even armrests.
