The Romanesque church was built in the 14th century by order of Giovanni Tavelli the Blessed from Tossignano who was to become bishop of Ferrara.

According to the legend, the church was erected in his chosen place of prayer, where the Virgin appeared to him in 1300.

From 1430 to 1652 it was the convent of the Padri Serviti, a religious order founded in Florence in 1240.
At those times, the convent's façade looked southwards, while the northern part was portico-rimmed.

The refectory was the most interesting part as it housed many frescoes, now conserved at Imola's Diocesan Museum.

In 1653, the community of Padri Serviti moved to Fontanelice by the order of Innocenzo IX.

In 1834 Riviera's rectorate was suppressed and the properties of the church were shared between the parishes of Borgo Tossignano and Casalino.
In 1912, the local historian Father Giuseppe Fortunato Cortini, visited Riviera on behalf of the Curia and discovered a table depicting the Madonna and Child inside the church.

It was a work by the famous Venetian painter Jacopo Bellini, as proved by the inscription on the table ("Has dedit ingenua Belinus mente figuras 1448").

A copy executed by the Roman painter Pompeo Coccia replaced the painting, now conserved at Brera (Milan).