The position on the ancient Via Postumia and the perpendicular intersection structure of its roads suggests that the city had Roman origins.

In the Middle Ages, in occasion of the foundation of the Rectors' Council of Verona, on March 9, 1185, it received the privilege of a tax free town, from which derived the name of villa franca.

It was the site of the signature of the Treaty of Villafranca, between Napoleon III and the Austrian army, which concluded the Second Italian Independence War.

Agriculture is specialized in fruit, and as a consequence of this, Villafranca owns an important trade market for peaches.

"[citation needed] Air Dolomiti, a regional airline and Lufthansa subsidiary, maintains its head office in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona.