Which Renaissance furniture form is used as a long bench with seat, back, and hinged lid?

• A. Sedia
• B. Trestle
• C. Cassapance
• D. Sgabello

Answer: (C)

The form described is the cassapanca. This Renaissance piece combines seating with storage: a long bench that has a seat and a back, and a hinged lid that lifts to reveal a storage chest beneath. The name comes from Italian, literally a chest (cassa) integrated into a bench (panca). It was popular in domestic rooms of the period because it saved space by merging function—you could sit comfortably and store textiles, documents, or valuables inside. The other options refer to different furniture types—a chair, a simple backless stool, or a table-support frame—none of which include both the long bench form and a hinged storage lid, so they don’t match the described piece.