Guardia Piemontese is located about 55 km northwest of Cosenza at the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its neighbouring municipalities are Acquappesa, Cetraro, Fuscaldo and Mongrassano. Guardia is an Occitan linguistic enclave.

The date of Guardia's foundation is unknown, and the name of the place has changed several times in history. "Guardia" means watch-out or look-out, and this name is probably related to a look-out tower built in the 11th century. Such look-out towers (Italian: torri costiere) were built to warn against Arab pirates, then called Saracens, ravaging the coast. Guardia used to be called Guardia Fiscaldi, after the powerful local feudal lords Fiscaldo/Fuscaldo, originating from Fuscaldo. After the settlement of Waldensian refugees who spoke the Occitan language, the place gained the name of Guardia dei Valdi. After their suppression, the name became Guardia Lombarda, which was changed to Guardia Piemontese in 1863. The name refers to "looking at Piemonte," which is the place that the Waldensians came from.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, Waldensians arrived in Calabria fleeing from the Inquisition in the areas of Bobbio Pellice and Torre Pellice, in what is now Piedmont. By 1315, they had settled in Montalto Uffugo, later also in San Sosti dei Valdesi, Vacarizzo and San Vincenzo. The local feudal lords, the Spinelli, being lords of Fuscaldo, granted them refuge. By 1375, they had also settled on the hill rising to 500 metres above sea level on which the upper town of Guardia now stands. For a long period, the Waldensians pretended to live as Roman Catholics, attending the Holy Mass and having their children baptised in Catholic churches. However, privately they stuck to their beliefs and received travelling Waldensian preachers for few days in intervals of about two years.

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