Design furniture for residential, office and contract in leather and coach hide. A History of quality Made In Italy. the history of matteograssi began in mariano comense, a small town situated in a small area called brianza, located in lombardy, a region of northern italy, where the head of what was to become a dynasty of leather craftsmen opened a workshop in 1880. the sign over the entrance read “saddlery”. inside, the grassi family - matteo and his wife, and later on, his sons - would carefully craft articles made of coach hide, such as saddles, bridles, reins and the full harness which horses need for work and transport. at the time, the brianza district was mostly a farming area, and the grassi family business adapted to the needs of an agricultural economy in which the ability of the craftsman, and his skills in coming up with solutions, were the key to success.