It dates from the Lombard foundation of the Duchy of Benevento, in the late 8th century, but after its destruction during Allied bombings in the course of World War II, it was largely rebuilt in the 1960s.

But as Francesco Lepore demonstrated in a critical study,[1] a sermon of David, bishop of Benevento (781/82 – 796), for the double feast of the Virgin Mary and the dedication of the cathedral on 18 December allows to date the foundation of the church to a few centuries earlier («antiquis temporibus»).

Around 830 the Lombard prince Sico I of Benevento enlarged the primitive church with a nave and two aisles, adding classical columns, which characterized the cathedral until its destruction in 1943.

Other earthquakes damaged the church in 1688 and 1702, after which it was brought to the appearance it kept until the Allied destroyed it in World War II.

At the base of the east side is a relief representing a wild boar with a crown of laurel: this may hint at the foundation of the city, or might have been the totemic animal of the Samnites living in the area before the Roman conquest.

The interior is modern but contains several historical features, including a large statue of Saint Bartholomew (early 14th century), some 18th-century artworks which escaped the destruction of 1943, and the crypt of the 7th–8th-centuries.