Known to be the bathing beach of the City of Temples, It named after Pope Leo II (682-683), Sicilian. Originally, the site was occupied from the store (porto) the Greek city that was constantly attended until the Arab period. The general store was already frequented by Mycenean sailors around the middle of the second millennium B.C.. in which it predominantly sulfur and rock salt. From this period dates the fortified village discovered by Mosso at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the seventh century B.C.. the Greeks of Gela settled there a trading post, documented from the nearby necropolis of Montelusa (hill to the west of the settlement).

In the Middle Ages the monks settled there, but the unsuitable location of the landing ships of the time it was abandoned in favor of the new charger that will Porto Empedocle. The greek period not much, also because in the last century, the district was heavily urbanized. Already in the sixteenth century Thomas Fazello noticed in the mouth of the square saxa identified yet in 1922 by Caruso-Lanza south of the church of San Leone. This is certainly the remains of the docks of the classic harbor that stretched along the banks of the river. Of course, as it was customary among the ancients, There were big 'hangar’ where they were brought to dryness military ships and docks for commercial activities.

Its activities had to be intense considering the importance of the city and also its extension was not to be limited, witness them the large number of coins found in the past in the area ranging from the classical period up to Byzantine and finally Arabic, confirming that the general store was certainly attended to about tenth or eleventh century. Mysterious sacrifice rituals of oriental origin (Egyptian) perhaps detect small foreign commercial colonies or alien influences on local cults. In the nineteenth century it was found in the surroundings of Caruso home a hand-mill which is no news until the twenties. Up to about 1900 there near the church of San Leone an old building with a once in a semicircle of clear Roman origins, where there lived a large family of fishermen. It was demolished by Commander Alfonso Caratozzolo to build the palace that still can be admired near the former summer Arena.

Among other artifacts discovered in that period are remembered some buildings of Roman origin, Arab stores and a small senia. It was also discovered a huge greek sarcophagus near the church of San Leone consists of a single block of sandstone, but unfortunately in the general disinterest it was done in four and transformed into seats on the beach. In subsequent periods, it was built the church of San Leone (XIII Century). Too exposed to attacks by Barbary pirates was decided to build a watchtower in the sixteenth century and designed by Tiburcio Spannocchi (1578). Tower, still exists, Contrada Forgia rises on high ground and is used, along with the farm that has developed around, to tourist accommodation facilities. In the eighteenth century the enlightened Bishop Lorenzo Gioeni (1730-1754) and he built a summer resort home for young people who still dominates, from the top of the hill Montelusa, the forest and the beach of Maddalusa. The bishop himself had thought the site of San Leone which area where to build the port of Girgenti.

The project was rejected for different reasons, so that in 1749 the works for the construction of the port were carried out in the beach of the Porto Empedocle, where for centuries insisted on 'charger’ of the city, fortified in 1544 during the reign of Charles V. In the nineteenth century San Leone becomes re-populated as a resort area from Agrigento. the Caruso houses were built in Piazza Trinacria, certainly the oldest, the Caratozzolo waterfront home, the so-called 'Cevuzu'(gelso) in the Sicilian language and several villas in Art Nouveau style. In the first half of the last century it was built a wooden chalet while in the fifties was built the bathhouse. During the Second World War the fishing village was fortified with the walls closing the roads that lead along the promenade and resisted an attempted landing of US troops.

From the sixties San Leone witnessed an uncontrolled development that has transformed from a small fishing village to a chaotic crowded seaside resort during the summer period from approximately 30.000 holidaymakers, while the stable population is about 4.000 people. Today San Leone is welded to the neighboring agglomerations of the Village Peruzzo, village Moses, Cannatello River Naro and with which is included in the district of San Leone Moses 13.012 inhabitants. In the seventies it was expanded waterfront in today's form was built and the port, Finally, in the late nineties it was built helipad today no longer used.