The division was named after the river Piave, where during World War I Italy and Austria fought three major battles.

[1] The division's lineage begins with the Brigade "Abruzzi" established on 16 April 1861 with the 57th and 58th infantry regiments.

On 27 March 1941 the Piave was sent to the province of Udine on the Italian-Yugoslav border in preparation for the Invasion of Yugoslavia, which commenced in April 1941.

[3] Between 1–10 January 1943 the division returned to Italy, where it was assigned to the Corpo d'Armata Motocorazzato, whose duty was to guard the southern approaches to Rome from a possible allied invasion.

The division stayed in Velletri-Sezze-Priverno until August 1943 when the Italian focus shifted to prevent a possible German invasion.

After Armistice of Cassibile was announced on 8 September 1943 the Piave received orders to move to Palombara Sabina, but was ambushed on the way by German detachments at Ponte del Grillo, north of Monterotondo.