The town site was likely inhabited since the Roman age; it developed throughout the centuries, its economy being based mostly on agriculture. It was in the 19th century that tourism began to increase, gradually turning Gardone in the well known location of today. The town is also well known to host the "Vittoriale", the residence of Gabriele D'Annunzio, a major Italian writer and poet of the early 20th century.

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.