The origins of Mendicino are very ancient: Sertorio Quattromani includes Menecina, which is supposed to be present-day Mendicino among the remotest Oenotrian towns. Menecina was destroyed by the Romans along with the town of Pandosia, near the area now called san Michele. Following the destruction of the two cities, Mendicino was rebuilt on the cliff now called Timpa Limena (Micino Vecchio area). The many invasions and earthquakes soon made the life of the new town very difficult, and in the 10-11^th century it was pillaged and destroyed by the Saracen army. Population spread out all around the area, while those who decided to stay settled on a small wedge-shaped rock hill, now called Castello. The settlement was called Mendicino for the third time and little by little it developed westward and the present-day urban center originated. Very few information exist about the historical evolution of the town in the following centuries. However, no remarkable event seems to have affected the political and economic development of the local community, whose population  devoted itself mainly to agriculture and craftsmanship.