Although the area was settled in ancient times, the origins of San Donato date back to the 7th century, when apieve was founded here by the army ofGrimoald I, Duke of Benevento. After a period under the Milanese family De Advocati, the town was a possession of thearchbishops of Milan until the 16th century.
Today San Donato is a modern industrial and services centre. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 30 December 1976.
On 3 October 2021, aprivate planecrashed into an empty building under renovation on San Donato Milanese after taking off fromMilan to go toOlbia. The plane had 8 passengers, all of whom died. One of the deceased wasDan Petrescu, a Romanian businessman and billionaire, one of the richest people inRomania at the time and the owner of the plane.[3][4]
