Located on the northern foothills of the Aspromonte massif, Cosoleto offers visitors a picturesque setting, surrounded by olive groves, dominating the vast plain of Gioia Tauro. The town consists of a central nucleus, rebuilt after the earthquake on February 5, 1783 and two smaller villages of Sitizano and Acquaro.

The vast territory of Cosoleto extends over several hectares and includes forests of beeches, holm oaks, firs, and larch pines, but above all, it is the olive groves covering the hillsides that constitute the true economy of the region thanks to olive growing, which represents an important source of livelihood for its inhabitants. Oliver farmers tend to the magnificent centuries-old olive native trees, with varieties of olives known as Sinopolese and Ottobratico, which produce an olive oil with excellent properties and quality.

Cosoleto, with its beautiful landscapes, is one of the 37 municipalities that constitute the Aspromonte National Park, which was established in 1994, and with its 67,000 hectares represents the southernmost mountainous offshoot of the Italian peninsula.

The origins of Cosoleto are uncertain. Its foundation dates back to the exodus of the inhabitants of Metauria and Taureana, who, around the year 1000, took refuge here following the Saracen raids. In 1270 Cosoleto was under the barony of Lamberto Malaino until the Italian Wars of 1464, then in 1467, King Ferdinand I of Aragon entrusted the fiefdom to Valentino Claver (Clever?) and his family. The barony was then passed onto the Spinelli family in 1566, and then onto the Ruffos of Scilla family who held it until 1639, when it was transferred to the noble Francoperta family of Reggio Calabria and, finally, to the Tranfo family, the last feudal lords before the subversion of 1806. A major influence in the history of Cosoleto, and above all for the district of Sitizano, is that of the Taccone family, who acquired the land as a fief in 1648 from the Spinelli Counts, thus assuming the title of Marquises of Sitizano. Even today, the heirs of the noble family traditionally spend long periods of time at their historic residence, an edifice dominating the entire district.

February 5, 1783 is a date that remains etched in the history of Cosoleto, Acquaro, and Sitizano. It was the day of the "great scourge", a massive catastrophic earthquake that devastated much of Reggio Calabria and did not spare Cosoleto. The old Castle, of which only a few walls remain today, the monastery and the church of San Nicolò were razed to the ground. The village was rebuilt at a short distance away, at a safer place on a hilltop, where it is still located today.