In 1263, the Servite friars tore down the ancient, tumbledown church of San Clemente, and used the bricks and other building material in part to build their new church and large convent. Despite the Guelph tendencies of the Order of the Servants of Mary, the commune of Siena, which was Ghibelline, chose to contribute to the construction by giving the Servites a large quantity of bricks but no money, so as to be sure that their aid would be used only for building purposes. In the year 1300 an indulgence was proclaimed for anyone who participated in some way in furthering the work of the church, which was already called Santa Maria dei Servi. In 1298 a part of the church was probably finished, because in that year the road in front of it was paved, while it took until 1416 for the square to be completed, when the stairs of the ancient church of San Clemente were demolished. The square is now named for Alessandro Manzoni, who came here to see his daughters Vittoria and Matilde, the second and youngest of whom died in Siena, as a plaque in the corridor of the convent commemorates. As early as the beginning of the fourteenth century, work to enlarge the building began, and soon after that a bell tower was built, since torn down. In 1363 the four apse chapels were completed; for this work the Commune of Siena allowed the Servites to use the bricks and tiles recovered from the ancient . . .