Il Ballo del Doge

A scene from Il Ballo del Doge

Il Ballo del Doge ("The Doge’s Ball") is a Venetian masquerade ball, one of the many events held annually during the Carnival of Venice. The ball itself is held in the 15th-century Venetian palace of Palazzo Pisani Moretta, situated on the Grand Canal in Venice. The ball's name derives from the title of the elected heads (Doge, "Duke" in English) who ruled Venice up until the fall of the Venetian republic in the 18th century. Every year the ball is attended by around four hundred guests dressed in period costume and masked.

The event is a reconstruction of an 18th-century masquerade ball and includes a meal of Venetian cuisine. Over the years the entertainment has included performances by opera singers, musicians, burlesque artists and characters from the Commedia dell'Arte.