It originates in, and is named for, the lower part of the Valdarno, the valley of the Arno river, in Tuscany in central Italy.

It was in the past extensively raised in the lower part of the valley between Florence and the Tyrrhenian Sea and in the plains surrounding Pisa, in the areas of comuni such as Cerreto Guidi, Pontedera, Empoli, Poggibonsi and San Miniato.

[1] The earliest description of the Valdarno chicken is that given in 1900 by Luigi Pochini, who recommends it above all others as suitable for both small- and large-scale rearing, for its rapid growth and the maternal instinct of the hens, but who notes that it requires space and does not adapt well to close confinement.

[2]: 46  The first breed standard was presented by Maggi at a conference in Mantua in 1905; the author believed the breed to date from before 1848 and noted the predominance of the black variety, as evidenced by the local saying "pollo nero, pollo vero", or "black chicken, real chicken".

Recent reconstitution and recovery of the breed was based on a small number of autochthonous birds found in the Sienese countryside, with out-crossing to Bresse and Castellana Negra.