Ringling Museum of Art and Ca’d’Zan Mansions

For my last day we decided to take a trip to one of my favorite museums in Florida, The Ringling Museum.

First we decided to take a walk around the beautiful Rose Gardens.  The Ringling’s Rose Garden is one of the loveliest spots on the estate.  The  is patterned after a traditional Italian circular garden design and contains 1,200 rose plants including  Tree Roses, Hybrid Teas, miniature roses, shrubs, and Old Garden Roses.   I enjoyed smelling the various fragrances.

Next we wandered over to the Ringlings’ dazzling palatial mansion that reflects the splendor and romance of Italy with Sarasota Bay serving as its Grand Canal. The Ca’ d’Zan has 56 incredible rooms filled with art and original furnishings.

Next we walked over to the Musuem of Art and enjoed the beatuiful courtyard and took several photos.  The Museum’s Courtyard is inhabited by statues of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, which enhance the architecture and form a charming twentieth-century American version of a European formal garden. It is a place you will want to linger. Over 400 objects of art are exhibited in galleries around this courtyard including paintings, drawings, prints, decorative arts, and photography.

Although it is easy to get caught up in the magic of the circus, John Ringling’s true legacy to Sarasota was his vast love of art. He and his wife, Mable, built an art museum in 1925 that housed his personal collection of masterpieces featuring  paintings and sculptures by Rubens, van Dyck, Velázquez, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, El Greco,  and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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