“Evenings at the Arsenal” Venetian Arsenale Carnevale

The Venice Carnival is an annual event that takes place in Venice, Italy. As a result, for 2 weeks every year during January/February the entire city is engulfed with swarms of visitors from all over the world. One of the events that we enjoyed very much was the “Evening at the Arsenal”. This was a featured event at the Venetian Arsenale Carnevale in 2016. The location is also known as the “Venice Arsenal”.

The Venetian Arsenale was used for centuries to supply the Venetian Navy when Venice was a global superpower. Now it is only opened to the public for special occasions.

The 2016 Venetian Arsenale Carnevale featured a carnival like atmosphere. The main events were fireworks, stilt dancers, flame throwers and the nightly performance of an awesome Italian marching band called “La Ghenga Fuoriposto”.

Venetian Arsenale Location and Entrance Fee

The Venetian Arsenale Carnevale is located on the far western end of Venice. As a result, the Venice Arsenal is about a 30-45 minute walk from St. Marco Square. Entrance is free!

Circus Performers & Fireworks

Arsenale Carnevale 2016 featured circus performers and fireworks. The show would start with a stilt dancer performing in front of shooting flames and loud music. It was pretty awesome, the flames would start shooting and the dancer would come out on stilts and perform to the musical sounds of “relax don’t do it”.

Arsenale Carnival Fireworks
First, the shooting flames and loud music would draw everyone’s attention to the far end of the dock.
Arsenale Carnival Performer on Stilts
Then out comes the twirling stilt dancer.
Arsenale Carnival Flame Blower
Another notable performer at the Venice Arsenal was the flame blower.
Fireworks Arsenale Carnival

Italian Marching Band “La Ghenga Fuoriposto”

The main show of the night was the Italian marching band called “La Ghenga Fuoriposto”. The quintet would roll up and down the arsenal performing their music. They sang in Italian but it wasn’t necessary to understand the words to enjoy it.

Additionally, the band was very interactive with the crowd and would pose for photographs during the performance. This made my friend very happy.

Singing at Venice Carnival
La Ghenga Fuoriposto sings with my friend.

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