Allegory of Sarasota | Seven Virtues of City Called Florida's Cultural Center

Allegory of Sarasota, Its Seven Virtues
John Ringling foresaw Sarasota as a "metropolitan city" distinguished by its cultural facilities. Having built Ca d'Zan (1925) and the John and Mabel [sic] Ringling Museum of Art (1927) on his 66-acre estate on Sarasota Bay, events were set in motion that would fulfill Ringling's vision. This complex, now affiliated with the Florida State University, also boasts theaters, a circus museum, and research facilities. Over time, the Sarasota Concert Band (successor to the Czecho-Slovakian National Band brought to Sarasota by Ringling in 1931), Ringling College of Art and Design (co-founded by Ringling in 1931), Florida West Coast Symphony (1949), Mote Marine Laboratory (1955), New College (1960), Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall (1968), Selby Gardens (1973), and others too numerous to mention were added, fulfilling Ringling's observation: "Though life is short, art is long."

Allegory of Sarasota, Its Seven Virtues copyright 2007, conceived and designed by Edward Pinto, was dedicated on February 2, 2008 to John Ringling and countless others who created the cultural jewel of Florida.

MUSIC - representing the performing arts;
FLORA* - representing our natural history;
ARISTOTLE - representing our educational and research facilities;
SCULPTURE* - representing painting and sculpture;
ASCLEPIUS, god of medicine - representing the medicine's gifts;
BOUNTY - representing the bounty of land and sea; and
AMPHRITRITE, wife of Neptune - representing our gulf and bays.
* denotes replica of statue in the Ringling Museum Collection

MICHELANGELO looks on with approval over the Seven Virtues

Photo: Louis Wery