It was 1850 when Enrico Cassina, a young Milanese artisan and expert in bronze work, decided to open his own workshop. Until that time artisans and blacksmiths had created brass handles and furniture fittings individually by hand as requested by their customers. Enrico Cassina believed that by using carefully crafted moulds and expert finishes he could create highly sophisticated designs more efficiently. It was a lucky guess: the name Enrico Cassina became widely known in the lively Milan of the late 18th century and his handles became an essential symbol of the city’s elegant buildings.

The workshop became a meeting place and laboratory for architects and artisans and the Cassina’s became expert in drawing inspiration from architecture, prints, furnishings and jewellery to design their durable and functional handles. The years passed by the passion remained. At the turn of the new millennium Enrico Cassina, a company with excellent products but a small production and business structure, found itself facing an increasingly globalised and fierce market.






Luckily, 2005 brought a meeting that would change the company’s destiny: Omporro, the historic producer of handles and furniture fittings was in search of new investment opportunities.


The company was deciding between building a new facility in the east and revitalising Enrico Cassina. Fortunately for “Made in Italy” the Porro family picked the second choice. The ornamental master found a technical and business partner that could present and defend it on international markets.

In 2009, the entire Enrico Cassina catalogue underwent a critical assessment by art and furniture historians aimed at unifying and presenting its styles according to a clear and precise categorisation using the style spectrum.


In 2010 Enrico Cassina Design was created, an experimental space where, as at the dawn of the Cassina workshop, architects, designers and technicians can meet and create in complete freedom.