Now that the weather has been perfect here, we’ve been spending our weekends outside, exploring one place after another.

This past weekend, we decided to head to Sarasota, a new to us area that has something of interest for everyone, and in our case, that was The Ringling, a collection of museums showcasing the legacy of Mable and John Ringling, one of the brothers behind the “Greatest Show on Earth” circus.

The Ringling includes a museum of art, a circus museum, a historic theater, bayfront gardens, and, of course, the stunning Ca’ D’Zan, a building inspired by the Venetian palazzos surrounding the Venice canals in Italy. If you’re wondering about its name, apparently, in Venitian dialect Ca’ D’Zan means “House of John”, and in truth, was the residence of John Ringling and his wife, Mable Ringling. I highly recommend reading about this marvelous wonder here; like any other building of importance, it has a rich and interesting history.

We decided to visit The Ringling on Halloween, and, surprisingly, it wasn’t busy at all, which allowed us to enjoy everything unrushed and crowd-free. FYI, parking is free and there is plenty of it, just in front of the Historic Asolo Theather.

We purchased tickets on the spot, which included visiting the first floor of the Ca’ D’Zan (museum admission + $10, which meant $35/person), as the rest of the building is currently closed to visitors due to COVID.

There is definitely a lot to see and learn in each of the museums, as well as the residence, so the $35 each we paid was absolutely worth it in my opinion, as this is not something you can easily find in the USA. If you’ve been following me for a while, you must know my love for Italy, so being able to enjoy a piece of it here in the US was really nice.

The circus museum has an elaborate rendition of the “Greatest Show on Earth” by the Ringling Brothers, and everything that went into making it happen, plus actual carriages and objects used in the show, videos of performances as well as performers’ transformations, and, of course, Mabel and John’s custom private (and incredibly luxurious) rail car they used to travel in.

The bayfront gardens are worthy of a stroll, and while you do so, make sure you head towards the Secret Garden and walk all the way to the back; there rest John, Mable, and his sister Ida, surrounded by “singing” bamboo trees.

The grounds also include an elaborate rose garden, which was planted by Mable herself. None of the roses she planted survived to this day, and were replaced with the same varieties; sadly, most of the roses were not in bloom at the time we were there (not surprised considering Florida’s scorching sun), so we passed through towards the museum of art.

The museum of art has a beautiful display of different paintings, as well as artifacts, however, the most impressive to me were the pieces of antique furniture, including some stunning pianos, the opulent rooms worthy of the Louvre in Paris, and Ufizzi Gallery in Florence, and, finally, the Rennaisance-style garden nestled in the middle of the buildings which houses a bronze replica of Michelangelo’s David.

FYI, photography is permitted throughout, however, please refrain from using flash as it may create damage.

P.S. I will be sharing more photos from here on my Instagram, so follow me there and keep an eye on my stories and feed for more photos.

Have you heard of, or visited The Ringling/Ca’ D’Zan?

Until next time.

xoxo,

Em