Buonconvento (from the Latinbonus conventus, "happy place") is mentioned for the first time in 1100. In 1313 the German emperor Henry VII died here.
It was surrounded by a line of walls starting from 1371, carried on by the Republic of Siena to which it belonged until 1559, when it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It was annexed to Italy in 1861.
Inhabited places in the comune consist of the town of Buonconvento, the frazioni of Bibbiano, Ponte d'Arbia and Serravalle, and other settlements including Castelnuovo Tancredi, Chiatina, Percenna and Piana.