Portico was founded in ancient times along the road to Florence and came to be known first as a market place during the Roman times and later as a castle under the control of the Counts Guidi of Dovadola.
Since 1386 the Republic of Florence had chosen Portico as chief town of its Romagna territories.
The village still retains its medieval appearance and is divided into three parts: the upper part with the castle and the parish church, the middle part with the owners' and aristocratic houses from the 13th and 14th centuries inhabited by Romagna and Tuscan nobles who escaped here from political fights, and the lower part with the houses of craftsmen with their workshops and of common people.