A charming town in the province of Catanzaro, overlooking the Gulf of Squillace, on the Riviera Nausica, Montepaone is located in the narrowest land strip of Calabria, the isthmus of Catanzaro, between the cliff area of Pietragrande and the bay of Soverato. The name derives, probably, from the Latin "Pavonis Mons (Mount Peacock), due to the fact that here, in the past, peacocks were raised.
Local historians claim that the town arises on the ruins of the antique settlement of Aurunco. During the Second Punic War, an important battle took place here between the troops of Hannibal and those of the Roman consuls Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Titus Quinctius Crispino. However, the first documented records appear only in the Norman period.

Sites of Interest:
- the Church of Holy Mary Immaculate, rebuilt in 1783, preserves a XVII century painting, depicting the Madonna del Rosario attributed to the artist Ippolito Borghese, sacred vestments and silver monstrance of the XVIII century;
- Palazzo Cesare Pirro, the current Town Hall;
- the stone column located along the former S.S. 106 to commemorate the clash between the army of Hannibal and the Romans;
- the whole district of Montepaone Lido