 At the beginning of Selvo 's rule , he took over responsibility for the third construction of St. Mark 's Basilica . This final and most famous version of the church , whose construction was begun by Domenico Contarini and finished by Vitale Faliero in 1094 , remains an important symbol of the long periods of medieval Venetian wealth and power . The church is also a monument to the great Byzantine influence on Venetian art and culture throughout its history , but particularly in the 11th century . Though Selvo did not oversee the beginning or completion of St Mark 's Basilica , his rule covered a longer period of its construction than the other two Doges who oversaw the project . The Doge decreed that all Venetian merchants returning from the east had to bring back marbles or fine carvings to decorate St Mark 's . The first mosaics were started in the basilica under the supervision of Selvo . 
