CARIATI, Diocese of. - C. is a small city on the Ionian coast, between the point of Fiume Freddo and Cape Trionto in the province of Cosenza. As a diocese it was founded in 1438 by Eugene IV at the request of Princess Covella Ruffo Marzano. It arose united aequè principaliter with the ancient church of Cerenzia, whose existence is much earlier. This indeed appears from the "Diatiposi" of Leo VI the Philosopher (866-911), as a suffragan of S. Severina. Because of its proximity to S. Giovanni in Fiore, seat of the Florense archicenobium, it recurs often in the diplomas of the Florense Congregation of the 12th and 13th centuries. Among its bishops are remembered the bl. Policronio, a Basilian monk, who founded the monastery of S. Maria di Altilia, known as Calabro Maria, the bl. Bernardo, a Cistercian, a contemporary of Joachim of Fiore, and the bl. Matteo Vitari, a disciple of Joachim himself and his first successor in the government of the Florense Congregation. But in the 15th century it was in full decline, so that it ended by yielding its place to C.
The new diocese, erroneously identified by Barrio with the Carini mentioned by St. Gregory the Great, was vainly claimed by Rossano, within whose territory it was included: it was declared a suffragan of S. Severina.
In 1543 C. was attacked by the Turks and its bishop, Giovanni Carmuto, was deported as a slave to Algiers. In 1561 its bishop was Alessandro Crivelli, later nuncio in Spain and cardinal. From 1602 to 1619 it was governed by the ven. Filippo Gesualdi of Castrovillari, who for 9 years had been general of the Conventuals.
In 1818 the diocese of C. benefited from the territories of the suppressed dioceses of Cerenzia, Umbriatico and Strongoli, and remained the only suffragan of S. Severina. Within its territory is Cirò, birthplace of Luigi and Antonio Giglio, whose fame is linked to the reform of the Gregorian calendar.
C. has an area of 869.75 sq. km.: it has 30 parishes with 34 diocesan priests and 50,021 inhabitants (1948).