The name of the town comes from San Gaudenzio, a hermit who had retired into these mountains in the 6th century. The Benedictine Abbey was built in his name at the end of the 11th century, and the first houses appeared around that time. San Godenzo was under the power of the Guidi counts until 1344 when it became part of the Florentine Republic. The Florentine countryside was expanding and acquiring more territory. Between the late 14th and early 15th centuries, Florence prepared its statute to guarantee the removal of forest resources and the breeding of livestock.

Then with Lorraine’s arrival, some reforms regarding the protection of forests and agriculture were introduced. With the Napoleonic Kingdom (1801-1814), the improvements were interrupted. After the fall of Napoleon, Tuscany passed to the Habsburg-Lorraine families and Leopold II built the “Forlivese” road started earlier as well as the "Muraglione" (“massive wall”), to allow those who needed to exchange work horses to find shelter from the gusty winds that violently sweep the Pass. During this period there was a sharp population increase. In 1944 San Godenzo with all its territory, was besieged by the famous Gothic Line and most of the houses were razed to the ground; in 1945, the reconstruction of San Godenzo began and saw its fortunes revive. Today the village, with its 519 inhabitants, has woodcrafting, carpentry, wrought iron crafting and stone working as its main economic activities, as well as is tourism.