The foundation of Brugnato dates back to the 7th or 8th centuries and is linked to the erection of a monastery which, like other monastic sites in Liguria and northern Italy, was dependent on the abbey of St. Columbanus in Bobbio.
Nino Staffieri (born January 22, 1941 in Casalpusterlengo, Province of Lodi) is the emerit bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato.