 For centuries, German-, Romance- (Italian- and Friulian-) as well as Slavic- (Slovene)-speaking people settled in the Canal Valley, which from 1077 was ruled by the Carinthian duke Liutold of Eppenstein, while King Henry IV of Germany ceded the adjacent territory of the Imperial March of Verona in the south to the Patriarchate of Aquileia.While the Aquileia territory was gradually conquered by Venice and incorporated into the "Domini di Terraferma" by 1433, the settlement then named "Buonborgeth" was part of the Carinthian possession held by the Prince-Bishops of Bamberg.The village, economical relevant for its iron ore and silver deposits at Valbruna as well as for its forestry, received its current name "male" (evil) due to the constant border quarrels with the "Serenissima".