The vertical extinction of the aerosol has been measured with a multiwavelength sunphotometer at a rural location in southern Italy. All measurements were performed during a period with relatively stable weather condition, thus it could be expected to have measured always the same air mass at least within each day. The direct solar radiation was recorded at wavelengths between 400 and 1100 nm with a resolution of 0.5 nm. Calibration of the instrument was performed by means of a Langley plot at an elevation of approximately 3000 m. From these measurements, vertical optical depths have been derived for a series of days in June 1993. The spectral extinction coefficient of the atmospheric aerosol at the same location has been measured by means of a telephotometer. The radiance of a target at a distance of 12 km was measured at nine wavelengths in the visible. Thus the extinction coefficient of the aerosol contained within a conical volume of about 450,000 m3 and a length of 12 km has been measured. The daily variation usually followed the same pattern: a decrease in extinction coefficient in the morning and in the early afternoon and an increase toward the evening. This variation correlated well with the change in humidity, so that it can be assumed that the aerosol particles have decreased their size due to evaporation of water in the morning and uptake of water in the evening. The regular daily pattern of the horizontal aerosol extinction coefficient normally was not followed by the vertical aerosol optical density, but on the other hand, changes in vertical extinction have occurred on some days, which had no effect on the horizontal extinction. Vertical extinction measurements were inverted to obtain aerosol size distributions. Inversions were obtained by the Twomey-Phillips method and they confirm the presence of a hygroscopic aerosol as suggested directly by the variation of the extinction coefficients against the relative humidity. The aerosol undergoes very clear processes of growth which are well correlated with the behavior of the humidity. Overall, the type of aerosol we have measured could be classified as rural aerosol. This kind of aerosol is typical of the boundary layer of clean continental area and is composed prevalently by water-soluble substances and in minor abundance by dustlike aerosol. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996