Faggeto Lario lies on the sites of ancient Celtic-Ligurian settlements most notably those of Orea (today's Palanzo from pala-altura, steep mountain slope), Compresina (today's Lemna) and Pianella (today's Molina) and on the site of a medieval village, Riva, founded around the year 1000. The discovery of some gravestones in Palanzo and Lemna proved the existence of a Roman settlement dating from the late period of the Empire. In the early Middle Ages, the three villages came under the control of the Parish of Nesso, from which they became independent only in the 17th century. From a bull by Pope Alexander III dating 14th April 1162, it emerges that Palanzo was part of the Milanese Archbishop's estates. This clearly shows that the village, an important way of communication between Como and the Valassina region, occupied a strategical position.
Many people from this area sought their fortune abroad. For example, the Galli and the Silo families from Lemna distinguished themselves with the production of barometers and telescopes in England, or with silk manufacturing in Lion, France. The Pizzala from Molina were famous goldsmiths: Carlo Pizzala, for instance, worked on a valuable papal tiara given from Pope Pius X to the Queen of Spain in 1854. Moreover, Palanzo was the birthplace of a Friar Philip, an inquisitor of the Roman Catholic Church, who operated in Como, Ivrea, Vercelli and Novara from 1410 to 1415.

Monuments:
Parish church of St. Antonio - Located in the hamlet of Molina, the present building is a 18th century reconstruction of a primitive Romanesque church.

Parish church of Lemna - It is a very old church dedicated to St. George; the original structure of the bell tower is Romanesque. The building was renovated in the period from 1590 to 1657 and then repeatedly altered. It lies in Lemna.