Much larger current was the ancient land of San Maurizio Canavese was much larger in the past, since it also included all the land bounded by the Stura river to the south and Vauda di San Francesco which became a separate municipality in the late eighteenth century.

In pre-Roman times the area was probably inhabited by Celtic-Ligurian tribes, and later was probably a Roman settlement, as shown by Roman artefacts found in the countryside. In the Middle Ages the main settlement was sometimes referred to as "Lifiniasco" but already in the 11th century in documents the words "de Sancto vicus Mauritio" appear.

At the end of the thirteenth century it was part of the Ciriè castle under the Marquis of Monferrato, then finally went to the Savoy. For San Maurizio a key date is 1335, when Margaret of Savoy gave the Community the land needed for the foundation of a new town, not far from the old, but equipped with fortifications able to protect the inhabitants from the frequent raids.