Benevento's cathedral has been rebuilt so many times — after earthquake, plague, and Allied bombing in 1943 — that it is now a patchwork of centuries. The core of the building is 7th century, the current facade a cautious 20th-century reconstruction. What survived the 1943 bombing and subsequent restoration is the extraordinary bronze door, cast in the 12th century with 72 panels arranged in four columns. Each panel depicts a scene from biblical history or local church history, rendered in a naive but expressive style that repays close looking. The door is one of the finest examples of medieval metalwork in Italy.
Inside, the nave is relatively plain, but fragments of the original mosaic floor survive near the altar, and the crypt below preserves a section of Roman-era masonry. The church sits on the highest point of the old city, with a small piazza in front offering views over the lower town.