Aiello Calabro sits on a ridge above the lower Savuto valley, looking out over terraced olive groves toward the Tyrrhenian coast. The town was founded in the Norman period and grew under the Ruffo di Calabria family, who built the castle whose ruins still dominate the upper town. The Chiesa Madre di Sant'Angelo has a Renaissance portal in Aragonese style, and the narrow lanes of the centro storico have the densely-built character of a town that never had much space to expand.
The town is perhaps best known for a story of cultural transmission: Aiello has a significant diaspora community in Canada, particularly in Ontario, and the connections between the hometown and its Canadian descendants remain strong. Many emigrants left in the early 20th century and their descendants maintain ties to the town through the church, through family associations, and through summer visits.
The view from the castle ruins is one of the rewards for making the climb: on clear days the Tyrrhenian Sea is visible to the west and the Sila plateau rises to the east, with the Savuto valley threading between them.