The basilica is of age-old origin, having been founded in 620 by Adoaldo and his mother Queen Theodolinda.

In 1596, the old church was damaged when the River Po flooded and was rebuilt farther away from the bank. In memory of the previous building, a chapel was erected in 1617 and alterations made in the following centuries. It is still visible by the riverbank.

In 1744, the second church was also destroyed and the present one was built on the same site, and consecrated on 29 July 1777 by Cardinal Luigi Valenti Gonzaga as a basilica. St Carlo Borromeo visited the basilica in 1575 and 1579.