The patron saint of Stellanello is Saint Gregory, celebrated on 3 September in the parish church dedicated to him, built in 1568 in the hamlet of the same name, also home to the town hall: the building holds a 1603 pulpit and two statues depicting Saint Gregory and the Madonna del Rosario, the latter placed above the Baroque polychrome altar.
The town's name is said to be tied to a folk tradition according to which the Saracen prince Al Kadir, during a raid along the Ligurian coast, saw the beautiful Andalora, «golden moor», and wanted to abduct her, tying her to the mainmast of his ship. Her betrothed, Stefanello, reached her by night while the ship was moored near Capo Mele, but in his vain attempt to free her he was discovered and killed. The first document attesting the name Stellanello dates from 1170, when the valley was part of the domain of the marquises of Clavesana, who built a castle of which only ruins now remain; the fief later passed to the Del Carretto and finally, at the start of the 17th century, to the Doria, princes of Melfi.
