In 1906, pre-Roman graves and a Roman era villa and coins were discovered in Bedretto.

[3] Already in 1227, when the alpine pastures of Leventina valley were divided among the communities, Bedretto had dependent, surrounding farms and hamlets.

The parish church of SS Martiri Maccabei in the settlement of Villa was rebuilt after its destruction by an avalanche in 1594.

The hospice in All'Acqua was the starting point to two famous mountain crossings: the Nufenen Pass, which leads to Ulrichen in the Upper Valais, and the Passo di San Giacomo, which leads to the Italian Formazza valley.

The Hospice of Valdolgia or St. Nicholas on the Passo di San Giacomo was a second station in the old mule track.

Due to the steep slopes of Bedretto Valley, avalanches often hit the villages.

In winter, the valley is often cut off and the connection of villages to each other and with Airolo may be interrupted for days.

The valley is also today still fairly isolated and without a constant connection with Valais, since a rail project to connect the valley to the Furka Oberalp Bahn as part of the Furka Base Tunnel project failed.

Historically, the scarce resources of the valley (cattle, dairy farming and cultivation of potatoes and rye) were insufficient to feed all of the inhabitants.

So they were forced to seasonal migrate abroad (mainly in Italy and France) seeking work as chestnut roasters, waitresses or domestic servants.

Since the seasonal migration ceased at the end of World War II, the valley has depopulated more rapidly.

The municipality has an area, as of 1997[update], of 75.23 square kilometers (29.05 sq mi).

[4] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Vert and Argent two larch trees issuant from the base counterchanged.

Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks Italian (91.7%), with German being second most common ( 4.2%) and French being third ( 4.2%).

[7] The age distribution, as of 2009[update], in Bedretto is; 4 children or 6.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1 teenager is between 10 and 19.

[8] The historical population is given in the following table:[3][13] The entire villages of Bedretto and Villa are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[15] In the 2007[update] Gran Consiglio election, there were a total of 83 registered voters in Bedretto, of which 58 or 69.9% voted.

[18] From the 2000 census[update], 65 or 90.3% were Roman Catholic, while 2 or 2.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

In the lower secondary school system, students either attend a two-year middle school followed by a two-year pre-apprenticeship or they attend a four-year program to prepare for higher education.