Founded in the 12th-13th centuries by the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, later called Knights of Malta, this Church shows the typically Romanesque tradition of reusing salvaged elements for decorative purposes, such as the early Christian sarcophagus on the left portal, or even everyday objects, such as the partially preserved majolica basins around the rose window.

As in the Pisan area, the use of these basins for architectural purposes attest to the importation of refined tableware from North Africa or the Middle East, yet another Arabian element in the important seaport of medieval Corneto.