A commune in the Ligurian Appennines made up of several different wards: San Giovanni, set on a small pass, Santa Giustina on the southern slope of the Colle del Giovo (516 meters or 1693 feet), San Martino and Corona. In the tenth century it came under the jurisdiction of several branches of the Aleramici, who built a castle in San Giovanni, of which only a few remains are left today. Disputed between Genoa and Savona, it was attacked by Genoa in 1225, though it was not until 1390-93 that the city was able to gain complete possession, buying it from the various feudatories. In the fifteenth century it was devastated by a fierce struggle with Albisola over questions of territory and the conflict was not resolved until 1482. It was then given its own statutes under the podestà of Varazze, which were confirmed in 1601. The seventh president of the Italian Republic, Sandro Pertini, was born in Stella. The parish church of San Martino houses wooden statues by Maragliano and an eighteenth-century fresco. It is set in restful surroundings, characterized by lush and extensive woods.