Il Ballo del Doge 2027, masked gala ball of the Venice Carnival
🗓 Add to my calendarThe costumed masked ball created by Antonia Sautter, 34th edition, reputed to be one of the most exclusive events in the world: gala dinner, dancing and performances (opera singers, musicians, burlesque artists, Commedia dell'Arte characters), after-party. Around 400 costumed guests. Period costume (15th-19th c.) strictly compulsory, a plain dinner jacket or day dress will be turned away, available to hire from the Antonia Sautter atelier (more than 1,500 costumes, fittings and accessories included in the Premium/Full categories). Named tickets, from €800 (After Dinner, entry at 00:00) and €1,600 (Doge's Lounge, entry at 23:00) up to €4,000 (section B), €6,000-7,000 (Supreme) and €10,000 (Doge's Imperial Table). Several sections are already sold out for 2027.
Line-up : Created by Antonia Sautter. Artistic programme: opera singers, musicians, burlesque artists, dancers and Commedia dell'Arte characters, to date no artist has been named and no international celebrity announced for 2027. An international, costumed high-society crowd.
How to get in
Antonia Sautter Creations & Events
Purchase of named tickets (full name of each guest required) online on the official site ilballodeldoge.com, via the authorised ticket office veneziaopera-tickets.eu (event page with purchase button), or by email/telephone through the organiser's office. Period costume compulsory. 50% refund until 28 December 2026, none thereafter (reseller terms).
The turnkey stay
On Saturday 6 February 2027, Venice returns to its most beautiful lie: the hidden face. We set your trunks down in Cannaregio, a few bridges from the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, between a fifteenth-century palace opening onto the Grand Canal and two starred tables where the lagoon is eaten by the spoonful. A mask shaped by your own hands, a private motoscafo to the threshold of the ball, the return at first light through an empty city: all that is left is to step into the role.
Where to stay
- Ca' Sagredo Hotel : The closest to the ball: a fifteenth-century palace listed as a national monument, Campo Santa Sofia 4198/99 (Ca' d'Oro), Cannaregio, only a few bridges from the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, the venue announced by the ticket office. 42 rooms and suites, a monumental marble staircase, a frescoed ballroom, the L'Alcova restaurant and a panoramic terrace over the Grand Canal, facing the Rialto market. The house where you dress in costume in your own suite and walk there.
- Aman Venice, Palazzo Papadopoli : Calle Tiepolo 1364, San Polo: one of the eight monumental palaces on the Grand Canal, with private gardens, an absolute rarity in Venice. The Arva restaurant, The Bar and the Palazzo Kitchen Table for a dinner behind closed doors. Spa on the third floor (thermal waters from Salsomaggiore Terme, three treatment rooms, rooftop fitness studio). Arrival by boat from Marco Polo, around 50 minutes; departure by private motoscafo to Cannaregio on the evening of the ball.
Where to dine
- Glam, Enrico Bartolini, Palazzo Venart : Two Michelin stars, Calle Tron 1961, Santa Croce. Enrico Bartolini signs the menu, resident chef Donato Ascani stages it: a contemporary reading of lagoon cooking, served in a palace opening onto a garden on the Grand Canal. The dinner of the evening before, the one that sets the tone for the weekend.
- Ristorante Quadri (Alajmo) : One Michelin star, Piazza San Marco 121, on the noble floors of the Gran Caffè Quadri, opened in 1775, the former rooms of the Venetian officers, full-frame windows onto the square. Chef Sergio Preziosa, a rereading of Italian and Venetian classics. The lunch of the day after, masks put away, while the Carnival parades beneath the windows.
What to experience
- Ca' Macana, atelier de masques vénitiens : Dorsoduro 3215: a family atelier that has been shaping Venetian papier-mâché masks entirely by hand since 1984. Small-group making and decorating classes, you leave with the mask you will wear to the ball, moulded and painted by your own hands. The only way never to meet anyone else behind the same face.
- Venissa, vigne murée et cave de Mazzorbo : Fondamenta S. Caterina 3, on the island of Mazzorbo, a step from Burano: the walled vineyard of Dorona di Venezia, the lagoon's native grape, with its cellar, its starred table and its Osteria Contemporanea. A lagoon escape by private boat, a tasting among the vines, lunch facing the water. Seasonal opening to be confirmed for February, we lock the date in at the time of booking.