The earliest documents concerning its foundation date back to 975 when Emperor Otto II of Saxony gave it as a fief to the Germanic Count Edoardo Cattaneo, after whom the main street of the historic center is named. The name of the village is a combination of two words: Wald, a German word meaning 'forest, wood' and the name of the founder, Count Edoardo Cattaneo.

The historic center is largely enclosed by walls and develops in a dense network of alleys, stairways, hanging gardens and lanes. In the main square stands "La Rocca".

Known as "the village of castles" for its extensive circuit of more than a dozen of them, its views take us back to medieval times with its constructions at lookout and defense points. The Rocca is an example of this and is the main node of this complex system of castles and fortified villages, posti, nei secoli, a salvaguardia del territorio e la cui visita costituisce un itinerario di grande fascino. In the Church of Saints Antonio and Antonino and in the Church of Saints Terenziano and Flacco, you can discover the ancient history of this territory, told through its stones , which have been appreciated since Roman times for the quality of the material and the prestige of the workmanship of the local labor force. The Romans called it 'loco petroso' for the rich stone quarries that characterised its conformation and make it, even today, famous in the ancient art of stonemasons for working the typical white and pink stone.

Visita Gualdo Cattaneo tra le chiese antiche ed i molti castelli che spiccano sulle vette delle sue dolci colline.