The Ringling Estate consists of the family's mansion, gardens and priceless art treasures and is sited here because Sarasota was the focal point for the great American circus tradition.  John Ringling himself accumulated a significant fortune from the circus empire d that toured the United States from the 1890s and the Ringling Brothers, P.T. Barnum and others are celebrated here. The mansion is well worth a visit and the art collection, housed in a purpose-built re-creation of a 15th century Italian palazzo, is considered to be the finest display of Baroque art in the United States.