The medieval village "Potentiana" is first officially cited in 1543, year in which Adamo Centurione from Genoa bought three feuds: Bibola, Aulla and Montedivalli. Podenzana's main buildings, however, had already been there for centuries: in fact, in the course of XII century this little village and its castle were fought over by the bishop-count of Luni and the Malaspina family. This latter eventually prevailed in the XIII century. Podenzana had also became an independent feud in 1536, after being repeatedly occupied by the Genoese in 1416 and 1449.

As we said, at the beginning of XVII century Podenzana and Montedivalli feuds were joined together; such they remained until after the Napoleonic period, to be later incorporated in the Regno d'Italia. Podenzana did not escaped the Second World War unscathed: after the 8th of September 1943, the Germans installed an anti-aircraft battery in Saletto di Podenzana, attracting the fire of the Allies that destroyed the Town Hall. The Resistenza (partisan groups) was also very active in the area; a ruthless German retaliation notwithstanding, the Resistenza managed to organise itself under the lead of Daniele Bucchioni, and gathered in Podenzana to contribute to the deliverance of Aulla from German occupation.