It lies in the Madonie Park between the hills and the Tyrrhenian Sea and is also on the Targa Florio racing circuit since its beginning (1906).

The long history of Collesano relates to the history of original inhabitants of Sicily, the Sicani, people coming from Spain, and later to the town of Imera, the hometown of the poet Stesichoros, the old Greek town founded by Chalcidians and destroyed by Hannibal[?]

He tells of the destruction of the town Qal'at as-Sirat situated on the top of Golden Mountain by the Norman king Ruggero II.

Many aristocratic families have been involved in the governance of the town, such as the countess Adelicia de Alife, niece of the Norman king Roger II of Sicily; the count of Avenel; the Ventimiglia's; the Cicala's; the Centelle's; the de Folch Cardona; the Aragona; the Moncada's; and the Ferrandina's.

Collesano is also famous for its ceramic artwork and the Mystery Plays: "la Cercha", a procession with the Penitentes organized every year in Holy Week; and "la Casazza", the "Cycle of Collesano" that has been presented five times in the last century.