According to tradition, the church was built, along with the adjoining monastery, by Antonia Venier in 1338 and dedicated to St. Louis of Toulouse, known in Venice as Saint Alvise.

The original wooden structures were rebuilt in 1430 due in part to the generosity of Pope Martin V. The church was restored in the XVII century, the interior almost completely remodeled.

Further along the right wall and in the presbytery are three large works by Giambattista Tiepolo, in order: Christ Reaching the Calvary, the Coronation of Thorns, and the Flagellation.

[4][5] To the left of the entrance are small 15th-century tempera panels by Lazzaro Bastiani, depicting stories of Old Testament.

The last altar to the left has an Annunciation and Saints Augustine and Alvise by followers of Bonifacio de' Pitati.