ARIANO DI PUGLIA  , a

town and episcopal see, which, de-spite its name, now belongs to Campania, Italy, in the province of Avellino, 15oq ft. above sea-level, on the railway between Benevento and Foggia, 24 M . E. of the former by rail . Pop . (1901) town, 8384; commune, 17,653 . It lies in the centre of a fertile district, but has no buildings of importance, as it has often been devastated by earthquakes . A considerable part of the population still dwells in caves . It has been supposed to occupy the site of Aequum Tuticum, an ancient Samnite town, which became a post-station on the Via Traiana' in Roman times; but this should probably be sought at S . Eleuterio 51 M. north . It was a military position of some importance in the middle ages . Thirteen miles south-south-east is the Sorgente Mefita, identical with the pools of Ampsanctus (q.v.) . (T .