In 1885, the artisan and artist Salvatore Scrascia (1858-1914) founded his Ditta S. Scrascia & Figlio (“S. Scrascia & Son Company”) to produce iron furniture, beds, metallic nets, and whole iron supplies. Scrascia had a brilliant intuition when he decided to create a new factory that still did not exist in the territory of Salento. Thanks to his determination and to his hard work, the Scrascia Company shortly became one of the most important in the region and started competing with more famous companies in the province of Bari and with the “Giuseppe Cantelmo Company” in Lecce.
The “Great Factory of Iron Furniture”, as highlighted on the company's letterhead, produced top-quality furniture thanks to the modern machines introduced in the factory and the efficient organization of its different production units.
After Salvatore's death, his son Amleto (1900-1986) took the lead of the factory, in Via Indipendenza 7. He decided to modernize the establishment by introducing new machines within the productive process as well as scheduling modern manufacturing principles to obtain high-quality products. An example of this innovation process lies in the production and sale of luxury beds whose appreciation went beyond the regional boundaries.