Founded during the Roman age, the small town was a political protagonist during the late Medieval and Renaissance age, when it lead, together or alternating with the nearby Maderno, a confederation of villages called "Riviera", which depended on the Milanese, Venetian or Veronese authority through the centuries, but often kept a relevant autonomy. During the last years of World War II, Salò was the capital of the so called Italian Social Republic, formally ruled by Benito Mussolini but actually controlled by Nazis.

Inhabited since the Roman age, it was the seat of an important monastery founded in 1220 and finally suppressed by Napoleon in 1798, after three centuries of decay. On its ruins, a private villa was built, starting from 1817, by count Luigi Lechi from Brescia. Later, a Genovese duke, Gaetano De Ferrari, bought the property and planned the construction of a larger palace, which was actually completed in 1901. The descendants of the family, still owners of the mansion, have opened it to visitors in 2002.

The island, also known as "Island of the bunnies", stands a few more than 200 metres ashore, in front of Manerba del Garda. In some times of the year, it can be reached walking on a thin strip of land.