Collesano (Sicilian: Culisanu) is a small town in the Province of Palermo, Sicily. It is situated roughly 70 km from the provincial capital of Palermo. It lies in the Madonie Park between the hills and the Tirrenian Sea.
 

The history of Collesano belongs to the history of one of the oldest inhabitants of Sicily; the people called "Sicani". Collesano later became a Greek town founded by the Calcidide (Eubea Island) inhabitants and was destroyed by Hannibal in 408 B.C.
 
 

Arab historian Al Idrisi wrote of the destruction of Collesano (Arabic name: Qal-at-as-Sirat) situated on the top of the Golden Mountain, by the Norman king Roger. In the Middle Ages, the town changed its name to Golisano and then after, to Collesano.
 

The Chiesa Madre dedicated to Santa Maria la Nova and San Pietro Apostolo is from the 1400s. It is divided into three naves containing many works of art with paintings depicting the Conversion and Beheading of St. Paul, the Vocation and the Crucifixion of St. Peter. A 1400’s panel dedicated to the Adoration of the Magi, and a Madonna dei Miracoli (the city's patron saint) is carried in procession to remember the miraculous intervention of the Virgin that eradicated a terrible plague in 1643. The festival is celebrated on May 26th.

Other churches deserve a mention: the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù, with an adjacent convent, both dating from the 17th century, with a bare architecture and a single nave housing a fine marble statue representing the Madonna and Child; the 1300’s Chiesa di San Sebastiano standing next to the 1700’s Collegio di Maria, at the very heart of town, Piazza R. Gallo; the single-nave’s Chiesa di Santa Maria la Vecchia dating back to the 12th century renowned for being the most ancient church in town and for preserving an Antonello Gagini’s statue of the Virgin. A final mention goes to the Chiesa di San Domenico and to Palazzo dei Baroni Fatta del Bosco.

From Collesano, the road leads through Sicily's famous Madonie Mountains. It is highly panoramic and runs past several natural sites such as Piano Zucchi, an impressive park which is rich in wildlife, notably composed of fallow-deer and wild-boar.

The road also leads to Piano Battaglia, a well-known area that derives its name from a battle between Arabs and Normans in 1069. These two sites are also a major winter attraction for skiing. Monte d’Oro, the Abbazia di San Giorgio and the Casale Volpignano are just some of the many other sites close to Collesano.