, the triple apse of the church is visible to the left It was founded in the 9th century and became subject to the
Benedictine Abbey of Santi Ilario e Benedetto, which was headquartered at the western edge of the
Venetian Lagoon, in 989. Serious flooding resulting from a war between Padua and Venice resulted in the monks of Santi Ilario e Benedetto moving to their Venetian dependency. San Gregorio became the seat of the Benedictine community in 1214. Simultaneously, it also served some of the duties of a parish church and had a close association with
Santa Maria Zobenigo. In the mid-15th century it was rebuilt to the current appearance under design by Antonio da Cremona. An unsuccessful
Commenda investment in 1450, intended to finance the reconstruction, initiated a long period of decline, which would last until its ultimate dissolution in 1775. After the dissolution, the church briefly became a
parish under the jurisdiction of
Santa Maria del Rosario. In 1807, during the
Napoleonic occupation of Italy, the parish church was suppressed. Deconsecrated, the church was converted into a
mint for refining gold, while the abbey building was converted to housing. The church was converted to an art restoration laboratory of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Municipality of Venice and the Lagoon in 1960. The church still stores art as a depository of the Directorate of Museums but is functionally unused, and has experienced structural damage. In 2017, it was announced that San Gregorio was to become the main location of the Museum of Oriental Art, currently at the
Ca' Pesaro. However, as of 2025, the church remains disused. The abbey building which was converted to housing after 1775 has partially been converted to exhibit space, and host events for the
Venice Biennale.
Canaletto painted some of his Venetian scenes from the first floor of the abbey building. The abbey's
cloister has also been a popular artistic subject. == Structure ==