It is said that the inhabitants of Marcellinum, a village located downstream of today’s Montesano, because of the unhealthy air due to the swampy places, and following epidemics of plague, took refuge in the hills (about 850 m above sea level) where it was founded, around the year one thousand, the new country that just for the healthiness of the air and its many sources was named Montesano. The place name "sulla marcellana" derives from the place of origin Marcellinum and from the road Marcellana that crossed it.
The vast municipal territory, is divided into valleys, mountains and plateaus. On the valley territory that delimits the end of the Vallo di Diano in south direction, rises the second inhabited center of the Commune, Montesano Scalo. In this part of the territory, bordering with the neighboring municipalities of Buonabitacolo, Casalbuono and Sanza, there is since several years now, the regional park "Cerreta – Cognola", a green oasis consisting of a vast forest of old trees, in which they are raised in the wild, different species of animals, now almost disappeared in the wild. Going up the municipal territory towards the chief town, we meet the "thermal" area, characterized by a consistent presence of springs of low-mineral waters, and here, near the thermal establishment, the municipal administration has created "an oasis of well-being", an equipped pedestrian path, from which you can also enjoy a beautiful panoramic view. Beyond the chief town, there are some plateaus, located at different altitudes ranging from 900 to 1200 meters. The largest is the plain of Magorno – Tardiano, in this plain, in winter if the rainfall allows it, it forms a small alluvial lake. If you decide to take one of the various paths that climb up the mountains of Maddalena, between woods and meadows, it is not difficult to come across herds of cattle left free to graze, foxes and wild boars.
The village is full of places to visit, especially religious places. Just think of :
Abbey of Santa Maria di Cadossa, ecclesiastical complex dating back to the year 1000, linked to the veneration of San Cono di Riano also known as San Cono da Teggiano.
Grancia Basiliana of San Pietro, dating back to the XI century.
Church and Convent of the Capuchins dating back to the fifteenth century.
Chapel of Sant’Antonio Abate, dating back to the XIII century.
Church of Sant’Andrea, built in 1300, collapsed as a result of the earthquake of 1857, with subsequent reconstruction completed in 1931.
Church of the Assunta, also known with the name of "Chiesa Nuova", was built between 1718 and 1731 for the will of the brothers Pietro and Antonio Gerbasio, barons of the place;
Chapel of San Vito Martire;
Chapel of S. Maria delle Grazie;
Church of Sant’Anna, imposing building in gothic style that dominates the main square of the town, built between 1954 and 1959 for want of the magnate Filippo Gagliardi.
Evangelical Pentecostal ADI Church, place of worship of the Protestant Christian denomination;
Church of S. Maria di Loreto, dating back to the 17th century and completed in 1871 (hamlet of Arenabianca);
Church of the Sacred Eucharistic Heart dated 1934 (hamlet Scalo);
Church of San Gerardo Maiella, built in the ’70s in the hamlet Tardiano;
Chapel of S. Espedito Martire dating back to 1924 (hamlet Magorno);
Chapel of San Vincenzo Ferreri dating back to 1973 (c.da Tempa la Mandra).
