The patron saint of Cerignola is Our Lady of Ripalta, celebrated with the diocesan patronal feast from 6 to 9 September: on 8 September, the solemnity of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, masses are celebrated from the early morning in the cathedral, culminating in the bishop's solemn pontifical mass with the entire diocesan clergy, religious congregations and civil and military authorities, followed in the evening by a great procession. The church dedicated to her was built, like other religious buildings in the area commissioned by the wealthiest families, where a pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Bona had previously stood. The town's co-patron is Saint Trypho, while Saint Peter the Apostle is venerated in the Duomo Tonti, built with an inheritance from Paolo Tonti and never completed according to the original design, its dome still visible from several kilometres away.
On 28 April 1503 Cerignola was the setting for the famous battle in which the French and the Spanish clashed for possession of the Kingdom of Naples, ending in triumph for the Spanish led by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. The town's history is made uncertain also by the 1731 earthquake, which destroyed almost the entire medieval quarter, known as Terra Vecchia.
