The Lake Ledro pile-dwelling settlement is an awesome vestige of the first inhabitants of our Alpine valley. It is an entire village (built upon nearly 10,000 wood stilts) from the Bronze Age, and it is almost 3,700 years old (it dates back to 1709 BC, according to carbon-dating tests by Prof. Barfield of the University of Birmingham). From prehistoric artifacts it appears that the pile-dwellers farmed, made pottery, wove fabrics, and traveled great distances for trade. Their standard of living was generally quite high.

Afterwards, the area was settled by a pre-Latin people called the "Alaeutraenses" (as indicated by the name of the valley), who were mentioned by Pliny in his "Natural History". Between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC another population, probably the "Cenoman Galls", colonized the Ledro valley, traveling from their settlement in Brescia to the Chiese and Sarca Valleys and bringing with them the first elements of Roman civilization.

The Roman cultural conquest dates back to the first century BC. The Ledro Valley was registered to the Fabia Tribe and aggregated to the municipality of Brescia. A major Roman road climbed from Riva del Garda to Bocca di Trat (Tractus), then descended to the Concei Valley. It traveled across the slopes of Mount Plagna (Mons Planus) until it reached the Roman bridge called "Ponte di Croina" where, after two hundred meters, it forked and led up to the Rango and Giumella Passes. Coins from the Imperial Age were found in Roman tombs in Pieve di Ledro and in Bezzecca.

A whole necropolis was unearthed in Tiarno di Sotto, and many objects from different periods were found there: buckles from the Gallic period, medals and hat pins of the Roman Age, and buckles and earrings from the Barbarian period. The oldest medieval document mentioning the Ledro Valley is the testament of Noterius, a bishop in Verona. The testament, written in 928 A.D. stated that he owned properties in "Giudicarie" and "Tilarno" (Tiarno).
In 1027 Ledro was included in the district of the Trent Principality, which Corrado II il Salico awarded to Udalrico II, Bishop of Trent. The Ledro Valley, however, always succeeded in remaining free of feudal dominion. Reports from the bishops in that period already referred to the area as the "Republic of Ledro". The name was later officially changed to "Comune Generale".

A fierce love of freedom survived in the following centuries: no trace of castles can be found on the spurs of the Ledro valley. A fairly serious altercation with the bishop of Trent concerning the annual census dates back to 1323. In 1348 the Ledro Valley, Riva del Garda and Tenno were handed over to Mastino II della Scala and were inevitably drawn into the battles between the Scaliger and Visconti families. In 1404 George of Lichtenstein, the Bishop of Trent, freed the Ledro region.

A few years later, however, the area was occupied by the Earl of Tyrol, then by the Visconti family and finally, in 1426, by the Venice Republic. Thus, the Ledro Valley was often the battlefield for wars between Venice and the Visconti dynasty. In 1438 a well-known battle took place in the "Val dei Morti" (Valley of the Dead) on the mountains surrounding Concei, where the Venetian troops, guided by Captain Sanseverino, massacred the Visconti regiment. Venetian domination in the Ledro Valley (1426-1509) proved to be prosperous: trade with Venice was intense, the inhabitants of Ledro received special privileges and exemptions from the Doges, and there was a sharp increase in artisan activities.
In 1509 the Ledro valley returned under the domination of Trent, and for about two centuries it enjoyed relative calm. The first Statutes and the Ordini of the Comune Generale were published in 1535. During the Spanish War of Succession, French soldiers led by General Vendome pillaged and burned almost all the villages in the Ledro Valley.

During the Napoleonic wars the Ledro Valley followed the fortune of the Trentino region, that was contended by France, Austria and Bavaria, in 1810 it was annexed to the "Regno Unito". After the Fall of Napoleon Trentino went back to Austria and it remained under its domination for almost a century. Because of its geographical location at the southern end of the Habsburg Empire, at the border with Italy that was carrying out its Risorgimento, our valley felt deeply the echo of the risorgimental risings.

During Garibaldi's Campaign in 1866 the Ledro Valley happened to write a chapter of Italian History. On 21st July, after a violent clash on the meadows of Santa Lucia and on Santo Stefano hill in Bezzecca, Garibaldi succeeded in driving back the Austrians from the Ledro valley. After this first victory a message by General La Marmora ordered Garibaldi to abandon Trentino. With the historical "obbedisco" (I obey) by Garibaldi the Ledro Valley returned under Austria till the end of WWI. During WWI the III Corp of the 1st Italian Army fought in the Ledro Valley and they occupied at once the southern mountains, while the northern part of the valley remained in Austrian hands.

In the beginning the bottom of the valley and its villages became no man's land, later they were occupied by the Italian troops. The people were deported to Bohemia and Moravia. It was a position-war characterized by many small assaults and conquests of pieces of soon-abandoned land. With the victory of Italy on November 4th 1918 the Ledro villages could finally join their motherland. During WWII The Ledro Valley had a relatively quiet time.