“Land of passage, traversed through the centuries by soldiers, merchants, monks, pilgrims, shepherds, bandits, the Valle di Comino offers cultivated fields, rows of oak trees, silver-leafed olive trees, medieval villages perched on hills. The fairest of them is San Donato, where the thin atmosphere smells of wood-stoked fireplaces, and the wind ruffles your hair in the alley ways. On one side lies Mount Pizzuto with beech forests inhabited by chamois and bears, and on the other the valley, dotted with medieval castles and fortresses, green plains and terraces of olive trees, dry stone walls and rural landscapes. Climbing up to the village, at an altitude of seven hundred meters, one finds oneself in a labyrinth of stone towers and shady courtyards where young people observe the clouds, where glances are exchanged under covered passage ways, and where the hammering of stonecutters remains imprinted on the stone facades. All this is San Donato. To love this village, just look at the colour of the sky on certain days in September, when autumn illuminates the trees on the surrounding mountains."

The origins of San Donato, a lively center in the Valley di Comino, are lost in legend and linked to that Cominium of the Samnites which was destroyed by Rome in 293 BC. The birth of the first "sanctuary" dates back to 304 AD, when Donato, bishop of Arezzo was martyred.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, San Donato had a relatively stable situation and was not affected by wars so that, despite setbacks due to an ongoing exodus of emigrants to other lands, there was a far more significant development both from an economic and urban point of view than in the other centres of the Duchy of Alvito. In the expansion that occurred during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, the varying degrees of historical and artistic development can be witnessed in the structure of the squares and various noble palaces and in the modernisation of churches and convents in the village.

In 2004, San Donato Val di Comino was awarded La BANDIERA ARANCIONE, the certification given by the Italian Touring Club for the quality of the tourist environment in inland areas. It is given to localities that meet various criteria related to the development of quality tourism. Some of the key elements necessary to achieve this certification are: the enhancement of the cultural heritage and environment, the culture of hospitality, the access and availability of resources, the quality of accommodation, catering and typical products.